


Comfort in Loneliness

by Figgyfan14



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alpha Kakashi, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe, M/M, Mpreg, Omega Iruka
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-07
Updated: 2020-03-25
Packaged: 2021-02-28 07:21:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 10
Words: 30,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22609960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Figgyfan14/pseuds/Figgyfan14
Summary: Iruka is the last Umino.Kakashi is the last Hatake.Neither is willing to settle for this lonely existence, and luckily they find each other.AKA my one attempt at A/B/O dynamics with male pregnancy involved. Or first attempt at least.
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi/Umino Iruka, Uchiha Shisui/Yamato | Tenzou
Comments: 175
Kudos: 706





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Please be gentle, I love these boys... Hope y’all enjoy my attempt at less-stoic Kakashi. He’s got anxiety.

There’s something about being the last of a clan that makes one feel so completely lonely.

All around Konoha, there are so many large clans. The Uchiha, Yamanaka, Inuzuka, Hyuuga… there are plenty of them, even making a mental list of them gets lost at some point.

Iruka feels the weight of his, once a proud and strong Uzushio clan, resting entirely on his shoulders. He’s the last one, no siblings or cousins to speak of, and in the years since his parents have died, he’s thought often about how they would want him to continue that legacy.

But should he? What is there to continue? His child would be the last, then. Maybe he would have two, but… what if he didn’t live long enough to? It would just be passing them his own loneliness.

He’s 16, a newly-minted Chuunin, and sure, he’s an Omega, but he likes going on missions. He doesn't want to stop that to find some Alpha asshole that will fuck him and decide he needs to stay home as soon as he’s pregnant.

For many, it would probably seem like he was thinking about those things too early, but when you have a life expectancy of about 30 it really puts things into perspective.

And the gnawing loneliness has been growing since the day his parents died, if he’s honest.

October 10th is a day that sees many people mourning, some at the memorial stone, some at grave sites, and some into a glass. For many, it’s a day where they remember the family they lost, but for all it’s a day remembering the Yondaime. Iruka met their former Hokage once, a vague memory from on top of his father’s shoulders, but he mourns his parents most of all.

He remembers their faces as he sits in a corner both of the bar and sulks into his sake. It’s his first year being able to do so legally, and he’s taking full advantage. He hardly even notices when Anko leaves their booth, a predatory grin on her face, to go stalk some poor Alpha she’s spotted.

He does notice, however, when someone replaces her. He doesn’t look up, but the flak jacket denotes the person is a Jounin and the scent is Alpha. The voice does bring his eyes up from the table, though, somehow teasing and bored at the same time as the man says, “Aren’t you a bit young to be here, kid?”

Iruka’s face twists into a scowl as he looks up, taking in the black mask and spiky silver hair of the Jounin. “Aren’t you a bit young to have grey hair?” He snaps back without thinking, noting the slight widening of the one visible grey eye.

That eye goes back to its half-lidded state after only a moment, but something like amusement has brightened it. “At least you aren’t too drunk for quips. You should be careful, though, mouthing off to your superiors isn’t advised when you’re too drunk to remember why you’re in trouble later.”

Iruka rolls his eyes, leaning back further in his booth. “Yeah, because the man who can’t write a legible report to save his life is going to report me for insubordination. That’s too much paperwork for you.” He’s seen this particular Jounin’s awful writing on way too many occasions to be worried about that, even if he can’t remember who he actually is. Working the Mission Desk has its perks.

This actually gets him a chuckle, and the other Shinobi seems to be smiling behind his mask. Probably, anyway. “It might be too much paperwork. But the punishment comes first, and that might be worth it.” He leans forward as he says it, visible eyebrow raised, and Iruka flushes suddenly at the implications.

“Are you flirting with me?” He blurts before he can stop himself, mind too foggy with alcohol to filter himself.

Again, that amused chuckle, this time accompanied by a cocked head. He looks remarkably like a dog, doing that. “If you’re asking that, you’re either too young or too drunk for it to work out,” he muses, eye studying Iruka’s face. “It’s a pity. You’re cute when you’re all flushed red.”

That just makes him flush even darker, and he’s decidedly Not Pouting about that. “I’m an adult. And I’m a Chuunin. I’m not weak,” he growls, scowling further. “And I’m not that drunk. I’m not slurring my words, am I?” He’s not sure why he’s making these points rather than just letting the Alpha go on his way and getting back to his drinking. He’s definitely not drunk enough to go home yet, he still can’t bare the thought of going back to his empty apartment.

That silver eyebrow quirks, and the Jounin is definitely smirking at him. It’s infuriating, and maybe a bit sexy. “You aren’t.” Iruka wonders for a moment what he’s talking about, then remembers his question. The Alpha continues, “Does that mean you’re interested, Chuunin?” The question is teasing, but he’s seen right through the protests.

Is he not drinking anything? Why is he in a bar?

The thoughts slip away before even being fully formed, and Iruka is back to his Not Pout. “I didn’t say that,” he mutters, breaking eye contact to look back at his glass. He can feel the interest there, though, starting to coil in his stomach.

Something in his face must be giving him away, because the silver-haired man is still leaning in, voice low and quiet as he says, “Then say so now, and we can go elsewhere.”

Brown eyes snap up to meet grey, and Iruka only hesitates for a moment. He wants this, and he’s lonely, and this day is the worst, so he nods. “I’m interested,” he breathes, watching a fire light in that grey eye.

The grin he can see hints of behind the mask makes that eye crease, and the other Shinobi stands, all predatory grace, and offers a hand. “Come on, then.”

Iruka takes the hand and as soon as he’s up he’s being tugged into a shunshin. The bar is gone, and suddenly he’s in a bedroom, and there’s barely time to notice before he’s being crowded against the wall and kissed.

He kisses back like he’d die otherwise, opening his mouth to invite the Alpha in, and taking the opportunity to start undoing the zipper on that flak jacket while he’s distracted. As if this reminds the Jounin that they’re still clothed, his hands get to work quickly as well, moving from Iruka’s shoulders to start pulling off his vest, shirt, pants…

When they’re finally naked, the man pulls back from the kiss completely, eye hungrily taking in the form he’s been undressing. “I just knew that blush went further than your face,” he murmurs, almost to himself, making Iruka turn an even darker shade of red. He can feel the heat creeping down his neck and chest, and he opens his mouth to reply but closes it when the Alpha grins at him. “So cute.”

The older man catches his hand and leads him over to the bed, the urgency of just a moment ago suddenly gone. Iruka follows, laying back and relaxing with a sigh as soft kisses are trailed over his neck and shoulders, moving further down and becoming more open-mouthed until there’s a hot tongue licking into the dip of his hipbones and sharp teeth nipping at his inner thighs.

All the while, the Alpha is whispering praise into his skin, so pretty, smell so good, I could taste you all day, yes keep making those sounds… It sets his skin on fire, making him squirm and whimper and moan. He’s so used to one night stands that basically skip the foreplay for the fucking, and he finds himself coming undone under that mouth, hardly noticing the slim fingers that have started prepping him.

He hasn’t touched his cock at all, and when Iruka tries to he finds his hands easily caught and pinned above him, the Jounin moving with such speed there isn’t even time to react. He smirks and shakes his head, leaning in to take another kiss before nipping at his lower lip. “Not yet, little Chuunin, we’re not going to be done that quickly,” he teases, smirk widening at the whine that gets him. 

“Come on, I’m so hard, I need it, please fuck me,” Iruka begs, and he wonders for a moment why he’s so desperate, he’s never begged for a dick in his life, but somehow this man is breaking him with his praise and gentle touches.

He blames the alcohol.

The Alpha just chuckles and keeps Iruka’s hands pressed into the bed together, dropping to his nipples and starting to tease them with his tongue and teeth. He’s merciless, pulling moans and cries from the Omega until he’s squirming and pushing against the fingers inside him.

His hands are released and the fingers leave him at the same time, then he’s being nearly bent double as his legs are pulled up over those broad pale shoulders, angling him upwards. Iruka shivers at the look of raw lust on the Alpha’s face, and he notices for the first time that the headband that had been covering the Jounin’s eye is gone, both eyes are open, and one of them is spinning slowly with red and black.

Who this man actually is clicks in his brain, and he tenses as he feels the pressure of a hard cock against his entrance. Gentle hands rub over his thighs, and the other man is whispering again. “Shhh, it’s okay, just relax for me, I’ll be so gentle, I promise,” he murmurs, kissing at Iruka’s ankle.

Iruka finds himself relaxing despite his revelation, and he moans as that large cock presses into him, just as slowly and gently as he was promised. The angle is perfect and rubs against his prostate, making him whimper and push up into the slow thrust. His hips are captured, held firmly in place, and a slow rhythm starts, the thrusts so long and deep that they make him whine for more, faster, harder.

The mumbled praise is picked up like he never stopped, so tight, so pretty, so flexible, perfect… and Iruka finds himself quickly stuttering with need, his aching cock twitching and begging to release.

“K-K-Kakashi, please, faster,” he whines, stumbling over the unfamiliar name. Those mismatched eyes are taking in every quiver of his muscles and twitch of his face, but they snap up to meet his when he says his name. The grey eye is so dark, and it feels like he could fall into it forever, but then Kakashi is moving faster, his thrusts harder, and Iruka can’t keep his eyes open.

He knows he’s embarrassingly loud, his little cries and moans growing as the pace escalates, but he really can’t care. Everywhere this Alpha touches feels like it’s burning, and he can feel his orgasm coming without even laying a hand on his cock.

It rips through him, whiting his vision even behind his eyelids, pulling a shout from his throat. He’s still being fucked through it, his prostate targeted in short, precise thrusts that make him writhe in overstimulation. The pleasure is verging on pain when Kakashi stutters and slams into him one last time, the warmth of come filling him up.

They’re both panting and shaking as the Alpha carefully pulls out and falls onto his back next to him. Those eyes still haven’t left his face, watching him carefully, with the Sharingan spinning. Then it closes, leaving just one grey eye to meet his, dazed with pleasure.

The wetness that’s trickling onto the bed from his ass is starting to get sticky by the time Iruka can even think about moving again. He runs a shaking hand through his hair, wondering when he lost his hair tie, and starts to sit up, only to wince and drop back to the bed.

This doesn’t go unnoticed, and the Jounin is suddenly hovering over him, face concerned. “I’m sorry, that was too rough, I shouldn’t- Fuck- I’ll get you- Shit-” he curses, running a hand through his spiky hair and somehow making it look even more wild. “Do you want a bath? I’ll be right back.”

He’s gone from the room before Iruka can respond, a small, pleased smile coming to his face. Usually after a rough fuck he has to put himself together and get out of the Alpha or Beta’s house, going home to draw a bath and soak the aches away. Kakashi has turned every experience he’s had on its head, making him wonder if maybe he can convince the Jounin that they should do this again.

Maybe he can give him a very convincing blowjob after his bath.

This is Kakashi Hatake, though, and Iruka glances around the room as he pushes himself up on his elbows. They’re in a house, not one of the barracks apartments, that much is clear. The Hatake are an old clan, even if they’re nearly gone now, so he wouldn’t be surprised if they had a compound.

Kakashi is back, still looking guilty, and he’s carrying a yukata that he carefully helps Iruka into before he picks him up, ignoring his protests.

Not that he protests much.

“Don’t worry about the dogs,” the Alpha is saying, and the Omega only has a moment to wonder what he’s talking about before he sees them as they pass down a hallway, “they don’t care, but I know some people do, but… the onsen is the best for the ache, and-”

Iruka is distracted by the little pug staring at him, and he almost doesn’t realize what the other man is saying. “Onsen?”

His thoughts stutter as he’s carried through a door into a large room filled with steam. The smell of a hot spring is one that Iruka loves more than anything, and it fills the air of the room, the steam escaping only through windows that are high on the walls

“Yeah, it’s- don’t worry about the mess, I know the techniques to clean it, it’s easy.” Kakashi is staring at him, but Iruka can only stare at the large pool of hot water that’s in the center of the room.

Iruka wants to marry this man. The onsen is worth it. And he has dogs. It’s meant to be.

He’s startled from the weird turn his thoughts have taken when he’s carefully eased onto his feet next to the water. He slips off the yukata and hands it back to the Alpha before slowly sliding into the hot water.

His muscles start to relax and he can hear himself moan at the pleasure of it, but he doesn’t really notice until he hears an answering chuckle. “Feel better?”

Chocolate eyes slide over to meet grey, and he notices that Kakashi is relaxing in the pool as well, a respectful distance away. His head is clearing and he hopes that his face is already red enough from the heat to cover the blush that he can feel blooming. “Oh, yes. So much better. Thank you.”

He thinks he catches a blush forming on that pale face, but it could just be the heat. “Of course. Again, I’m sorry that I was so rough, I-”

Iruka rolls his eyes and interrupts. “Stop apologizing for the best sex of my life,” he snaps, and he knows that his blush is obvious after that, he can feel it creeping down his chest again.

Kakashi just laughs, though, a real laugh that bounces around the room and leaves the Omega wanting to hear more of it. “Noted. Gotcha. Does that mean if we have even better sex you’ll let me apologize for this time?” He’s lost the look of guilt, his grin is teasing now.

The Chuunin appears to think about this, humming and tapping his chin slowly. “If we do, it wouldn’t be the best anymore. So that does seem to be the loophole,” he muses. He really hopes that the Alpha is being serious about doing this again.

He catches a flash of sharp teeth as that grin turns hungry for a moment. “I do love to exploit loopholes.” Kakashi is closer, easing his way slowly along the wall towards Iruka.

The flutter of fear at that hungry look only fuels his arousal, and the Omega can’t keep from smirking. “This is going to be a rather difficult one to exploit,” he hears himself saying, only conscious thought on staying entirely still and not giving into his instincts that want him to either run or throw himself on the Alpha.

He stops before he touches Iruka, the Jounin reaching out carefully to run a finger along the scar over the bridge of his nose. It makes him shiver and then freeze, mind going blank for a moment at the reverent look on his face. “So beautiful,” the man murmurs, finger lingering at the edge of the scar. “I wanted you the moment I saw you. I would have waited until you were older or at least sober, but you… you looked so lonely.”

His voice is so low and that same reverence that’s on his face is reflected there, as if he were praying.

Iruka can’t speak in response, completely thrown off. This man is nothing like what you saw around the village, the Jounin that looked bored to be existing and always had his nose in some pervy book. His face is bare, his eye expressive, and his voice is so far from bored that it would make him sure that he’s mistaken on his identity if not for that single Sharingan eye.

Kakashi is being open with him, and Iruka doesn’t know how to take that. He listens as the Alpha continues to talk. “You’re so pretty, how can you be so alone? You should have a mate, but you don’t smell like any other Alpha or Beta, just-” He leans in and slides his nose up the side of Iruka’s neck, breathing deeply. “-you. Oh, you smell so good, I want to fuck you, I had to fuck you, I-”

Iruka is hard again, the praise and the scenting making it so hard to focus, but he knows he can’t be fucked like that again if he wants to live through his Mission Desk shift tomorrow. He has to interrupt. “Kakashi.” One eye meets his, and he’s glad that this Alpha seems to have a lot of self control. “I don’t think I can… right now,” he mutters, embarrassment making him drop his gaze when that eye widens slightly.

“Shit, I’m so sorry, I didn’t think- I didn’t mean right now, that’s fine- just- in the future, and-” His words come out faster, jumbled, and he jerks back, retreating, but Iruka catches his hand.

“No apologizing. Remember? Just… later. I’d like to be able to sit down tomorrow.” He smiles, trying to lighten the mood again. Kakashi is so awkward, and Iruka has decided that he likes that.

The flash of relief across his face makes the Chuunin smile wider and pull him back in by his captured hand. He comes without complaint, settling in with their shoulders together and letting the silence stretch between them. It’s comfortable, and Iruka pushes down his arousal, promising himself that he’ll have time for it later.

When the water has eased his aches, more even than those of the night, he glances back over to see Kakashi’s head tilted back and his face smooth and unworried. His mouth is soft, pink lips wet from the steam and sweat, and the beauty mark on his chin is a single dark speck in a sea of perfectly pale and flushed skin.

This man called him beautiful, but he knows he’s nowhere near as attractive as that face.

He sighs softly before speaking, not wanting to startle the Jounin. “We should probably get out soon. It’s not good to be in too long.”

His face doesn’t change but Kakashi’s eye cracks open enough to glance at him from the side of it. “That’s true…” He seems reluctant, and Iruka notices his hand twitch where he’s still holding it, the grip tightening for a moment.

He’s going to step out on a limb here and hope he doesn’t fuck things up. “Do you-” he clears his throat “-want me to stay?”

He’s never stayed in another man’s bed. He always lets himself out after sex. But he’s also never had the kind of sex that they had, or shared a bath with a lover or-

The Alpha nods slowly, like he isn’t sure if this is some kind of trap, eye still barely open but trained on the Omega’s face. Sharp teeth catch a soft lower lip, before a pink tongue flicks out quickly to wet it. “Please.” The word is so small and soft that it could almost be his imagination, but Iruka knows it isn’t.

He stands and pulls Kakashi to his feet as well. “Let’s go to bed, then,” he says simply, stretching and only letting go of the Jounin’s hands when he gets out of the water.

There’s a shelf of towels against the wall by the door, and he finds he has an unexpected spring in his step as he goes to get one. He blames the onsen. Definitely not the flutter of hope and possibility in his chest. Nope.

Kakashi follows him, taking a towel as well, and then nodding toward the light blue yukata that he’d dressed him in earlier. It’s hanging on a hook on the other side of the doorway. “You can sleep in it if you’d like. I have others. That one is the smallest, the others may be a bit big on you.”

Iruka notices a neat stack of dark silk, blues and purples and blacks, next to the towels. He smiles and accepts the offer with a nod, quickly drying himself and twisting his hair up in the towel before he slips it on. Kakashi goes with a deep purple yukata that contrasts his skin and hair and makes him look even paler.

He thinks he should feel a bit more embarrassed than he does to be standing next to the gorgeous Jounin, walking toward a room where they’re going to be sharing a bed for the night rather than just for sex. He’s a Chuunin Omega with very little to offer someone of the caliber of Sharingan Kakashi, but that doesn’t seem to bother the older man in the slightest.

He looks at him like he’s important, and that makes some deep, base instinct quiver.

As they walk back into the bedroom, Iruka remembers Kakashi’s earlier comment about the dogs. The bedroom is still dark, but the light from the hallway leaks in and illuminates the bed, which is covered in dogs.

Eight of them. Right. Of course Kakashi lets them sleep on his bed. Iruka may be in love.

The light to the room is flipped on, and the dogs look up, most of them only subtly, but some of them turning their heads. Iruka is still standing in the doorway, unsure of himself, when Kakashi clears his throat.

He looks over and sees the embarrassed flush of those pale cheeks. Cute. He makes a decision. “Ah, the dogs. I know you said not to worry about them earlier. Do you think they’ll have a problem with me sleeping here too?” He asks, making it clear that he doesn’t have any issues with them.

Honestly, he loves dogs. He really hopes they won’t dislike him.

The relief is back, then replaced with delight, and Kakashi shakes his head quickly. “No, uh…” he looks at the pack “make some room, guys!” They do so quickly, and the silver-haired man is still grinning as he leads Iruka over by the hand.

He notices that the soiled blanket they’d had sex on earlier is has been pushed off onto the floor, but he’s warm and happy to just lay in top of the sheets and settle into the side of the Alpha as the Ninken shift around them.

He finds himself in a puppy pile as he lets sleep drag him under.


	2. Chapter 2

It’s early morning and light is filtering in through the east-facing window when he wakes up, warm and comfortable and so content that he can’t bring himself to open his eyes at first. He can hear a whispered conversation going on next to him, letting himself drift awake slowly as he eavesdrops.

“You don’t usually bring them here is all I’m saying, boss. This one must be special, even if you won’t say it.”

“Pakkun, it’s been one day. One. I can’t just- Iruka’s really great. But what if he doesn’t like- what if- I can’t think about that yet.”

“You gotta find a mate sometime, kid. He smells nice. He slept in the bed with us. You like him. I’m just saying.”

“Just leave it alone for right now, okay? Don’t scare him off. He’s- he’s waking up.”

They both go quiet, and Iruka breathes in deeply and stretches, blinking slowly like he hasn’t just heard the cutest conversation ever between a man and his dog. He smiles sleepily when a grey eye meets his. “Morning.”

Kakashi’s nervousness disappears in an instant, returning the smile. “Good morning. Did you sleep well?”

Iruka’s eyes drift closed, and he leans more fully into the shoulder he was sleeping on, nuzzling the pale skin. “Like the dead. What about you?”

A shiver runs through the Alpha, and Iruka smiles against his skin. “I slept well.” His voice sounds a bit high, almost hedging, but the Omega doesn’t comment on it.

He stretches again, shifting and noticing the bulky weight of one of the dogs over his legs. He smiles down at the little brown dog, who returns it a bit sheepishly. It turns into a full grin when Iruka reaches down to pet him, though. “I’ve heard about your Ninken, you know, but I didn’t know they’d be so cute,” he comments, casually changing the subject.

Ears perk up around him, the dogs starting to wake up and wiggle closer so that they can get in on the pets that are being given. Kakashi huffs. “They hardly ever meet anyone outside of combat, so I think they’re just sucking up to you.”

His voice is amused, and when Iruka sits up and reaches over to pet the largest of the pack, he sits up too, wrapping his arms around the Omega’s waist. “Why don’t you take them out more often if they like people?” He muses, leaning into the touch. This is getting dangerously comfortable.

The Alpha snorts into his neck, the puff of air making him shudder. “Oh, they don’t like all people. Only some. Took them to the park once and they nearly took off some asshole Alpha’s hand for touching an Omega that didn’t appreciate it. The Hokage decided it was best if they were kept inside the compound after that.” His voice is surprisingly light for the topic, and Iruka can’t tell if it’s because he doesn’t mind that or because he’s putting on a front.

Either way, he finds himself giving them better scratches behind the ears after that. “They should have been rewarded instead, good boys protecting people from assholes. Such good boys. Yes,” he croons, smiling at the wagging tails this gets him.

Some tension that he hadn’t realized the Jounin was holding relaxes, and he knows then that Kakashi was just putting on a front, worried about the response that would get from him. “They are good,” he agrees easily. His hands slide over the Chuunin’s chest, brushing over his nipples, teasing gently as they move lower and to his hips.

Iruka blushes hard, shifting in embarrassment. The dogs are right there, watching them, and Kakashi seems entirely uncaring. “R-right.”

A low chuckle in his ear makes his stomach start to heat, and sharp teeth nip his earlobe, making him squeak. Then the hands are gone, the Jounin is out of bed, and he’s grinning from the doorway. “Who wants breakfast?” He’s far too chipper as he asks, and Iruka narrows his eyes in suspicion. He’s being teased.

The brunette flicks his hair out of his face as several of the pack perk up and agree to the idea of food. Fine. Two can play this game. “Sure, breakfast sounds great,” he chirps, flashing teeth with his smile.

Kakashi looks almost taken aback for a moment before recovering and nodding. “Pancakes or waffles?”

Iruka doesn’t even have to consider it. “Pancakes.”

Kakashi nods again, looking at the Chuunin for another moment before starting down the hall.

He takes a moment to steady himself, deciding on a course of action as he pets the dogs that have stayed in bed. The little brown one that slept on his legs watches the door for a moment before looking up at him and smiling. “Boss really likes you. Don’t hurt him, okay? Pakkun says you’re okay, he’s got the best sense of humans, but we don’t want to see him get hurt.”

Iruka is momentarily startled to have one of the pack confide in him like this, but then the greyhound kicks the little brown pup off the bed with a snort. “Don’t listen to Bisuke. We know you won’t hurt him. Your scents are already shifting. Just don’t reject it and you’ll be happy little mates in no time.”

Somewhere in his mind, the Omega knows that this should not be comforting. He should not be thinking about becoming mates with Kakashi Hatake. The Copy-nin. Friend-killer Kakashi. He should not be thinking about waking up every morning to a bed full of dogs and taking long soaks in that huge onsen after a long mission. He should leave. Now. And not care about the amazing sex or the amusing conversations.

He is definitely not leaving. He hasn’t felt the ache of loneliness dissipate this much in a long time.

The brunette smiles at the dogs, patting the greyhound on the head. “Okay. Thank you for the advice,” he says softly, sliding toward the edge of the bed and letting the rest of the pack follow him from the room.

He can smell the pancakes cooking, and he follows his nose towards them, finding the kitchen. Kakashi is still in his yukata as he cooks, his usual slouch replaced by a straight spine and broad shoulders. He doesn’t acknowledge Iruka when he comes in, but there’s no way the Jounin would be surprised by him.

He does seem to be, though, when the Chuunin presses himself against his back and wraps his arms around his waist. How considerate. His hands start to wander, sliding into the yukata and rubbing over nipples and taut abdominals. There’s a pancake in the skillet on the stove, and Kakashi is doing a valiant job of making sure it doesn’t burn.

Iruka chuckles into his spine as he feels a tremor go through the older man. “Do you always make people pancakes when you have them over for a night, Kakashi-san?” He asks, keeping his tone light and curious.

Whether it’s the question or the hands or the honorific that makes Kakashi squirm slightly, he isn’t sure. “Not… always,” he replies, his voice uncertain and confused. “Honestly, though… I usually take people to my place in the barracks.” His neck is turning red, creeping up into his hair, and Iruka grins.

“Really? Why did you decide to bring me here, Kakashi-san?” He lets his hands slip a bit lower, the yukata falling open easily as he rubs his thumbs into the dips of Kakashi's hip bones.

It’s definitely the honorific, that shifting coming again just as he finishes speaking. “Well- I’m not- entirely sure myself. I just had a feeling, and-” Iruka runs light fingers over his slowly hardening erection, and Kakashi cuts off.

“That pancake is going to burn, Kakashi-san,” the Omega purrs against his back, already smelling the batter burning. The feeling of unbalancing the Alpha is heady in itself, and adding the arousal that he can smell coming off the other man…

Iruka smirks at the little choked noise that Kakashi makes, but suddenly the stove is off, the pan is removed, and the Jounin is pressing him against the wall, in much the same position from the night before.

He gasps in surprise just in time to have his mouth taken in a kiss and a tongue tangling with his. The Alpha lifts him by his thighs, spreading the Omega’s legs around his waist and pressing their erections together through the soft silk of their yukata. Iruka can’t keep up, there are sharp teeth nipping at the soft skin of his jaw and the side of his neck, and hips are pressing against his, rubbing together with delicious friction.

It’s rough and frantic, and he pushes forward as well, wanting more, craving the orgasm he can already feel building. His hands slide into silver hair that’s surprisingly soft, and he grips it tighter than he should, but that just makes the older man groan and clamp his teeth down on the tender spot he’d been licking moments before.

The Jounin’s hands are under his yukata, kneading his thighs and ass and leveraging them closer together, making more friction. He laps at the spot that he bit, soothing the pain and pulling more moans and whines from the Chuunin. Iruka is already so close, and when Kakashi shifts his weight and moves a hand between them to take both of their erections into his hand, neither one of them makes it more than a few pulls.

They’re trembling against the wall, stomachs sticky and breath coming quickly, when Iruka huffs out a laugh. Kakashi leans back just enough to look at him like he’s offended. “Something funny?”

The Omega nods and grins, once again showing teeth. “I didn’t expect that. I must have been doing a better job of teasing you than I thought. Kakashi-san.”

The tremor that runs through him is gratifying, especially accompanied by the low growl that the Alpha lets out. “You have to stop that. I won't be able to turn in a mission report without getting hard if you don’t.”

Iruka laughs again, wrapping his legs more tightly around the pale hips and pushing himself up enough to kiss the other man’s forehead. “I can’t wait,” he purrs, chuckling again as Kakashi groans.

“Let me make breakfast now. Please,” he mumbles, nuzzling into Iruka’s neck.

He can hear the pout in his voice.

“If you insist,” he agrees, loosening his grip and letting the Alpha set him back on his feet. They’re both sticky, and he grimaces at the sight of their yukata. “Only after cleaning up. This is disgusting.”

They go to a bathroom, one with a sink and shower, and almost don’t make it out again with time for Kakashi to make breakfast before Iruka has to go to his Mission Desk shift. He does make pancakes eventually, though, way too many, which is good because of all the calories they’ve burned. Iruka makes it to his shift on time, feeling lighter than he has in a while even as he wears the same slightly-mussed uniform from the day before.

It seems like no one notices the change, at first, but that’s too good to last long.

Of course, it’s Mizuki that notices.

He shows up late for his shift, which isn’t all that unusual for the Beta, but as soon as he takes his seat Iruka can see him stiffen.

He’s taking a scroll from a Jounin, tutting over their grammar, when his friend turns to him fully. The other Chuunin at least has the sense to let him finish stamping the scroll and thanking the Jounin before he starts in, but there are too many other people in the room, hovering around the edges of it, for it to be considered good timing.

“Why do you smell like an Alpha?” Mizuki blurts, and it’s Iruka’s turn to stiffen and turn a slow glare to the Beta.

“I don’t think that’s really any of your business,” he hisses, keeping his voice low and glancing around to see if anyone is watching them. Of course, no one staring openly doesn’t mean much to a Shinobi, but he can always hope it means no one is interested.

The other man doesn’t seem to get the message, though, a smug grin coming to his face. “You picked someone up last night, didn’t you? I thought you were just planning on getting drunk.” The way he says it is what is annoying, almost accusatory. And yeah, he did tell Mizuki to get lost because he wasn’t in the mood to fuck earlier that night, but that was before he was drunk. “You sly dog, who was it? Come on, spill.”

Iruka growls and rolls his eyes. “Not here, you idiot, we have jobs to do.” Why does he always do this in public? Sometimes, Mizuki really is an idiot.

He won’t let up, though. “Someone you’re ashamed to have slept with then, huh? Were you too drunk to notice they were ugly? Was the sex bad?” For some reason, it’s the insults that make Iruka respond. 

“No, he’s fucking gorgeous and it’s the best sex I’ve ever had, okay? We’re at work, though, this isn’t the time!” He snaps, immediately noticing the volume at which he’d spoken and the sudden silence in the rest of the room.

A not-so-subtle cough makes him look up, and of course Kakashi is standing in the corner and looking completely amused about the situation. Just his fucking luck.

Mizuki immediately notices the look exchanged between the two, his eyebrows shooting up into his hair. “Hatake? You slept with that pervert?” He once again sounds accusatory, and Iruka wants to disappear. Not a single person is coming up with a mission scroll to turn in and distract from the situation.

“Yes! Will you shut up now?” He hisses, glaring openly now. Sometimes it seems like all his friend does is embarrass him.

Mizuki shrugs and turns back to the desk, muttering something under his breath that sounds like Iruka definitely doesn’t want to hear it.

Unfortunately, Kakashi has the ears of a dog, and there is killing intent rolling off him just a moment later, the weight of it crushing in the enclosed space. Everyone freezes, not even the Jounin are willing to turn to see what’s happening. 

Kakashi pushes away from the wall and stands to his full height, shoulders out and back straight as he walks across the room with deadly grace. He’s a leopard, every muscle taut and every movement deliberate. He stands in front of the desk like he’s a king and the Chuunin before him is an ant, and the commanding tone he speaks with leaves no room for argument. “Say that again.”

His voice is even, but it’s like a whip through the air, the pressure of his chakra releasing immediately so that the Beta can reply.

Mizuki should have kept his mouth shut, but he really is an idiot. He sneers, “I said that he’s a dumb slut.”

The threatening chakra comes back in full force, possibly even more than before, with Iruka only having a second to open his mouth in protest before he can’t even think straight. Kakashi is obviously holding back, the look on his face murderous, but he makes no move to strike the Beta like he so obviously wants it.

It’s the only thing that Iruka is sure he wouldn’t be able to forgive. Mizuki is stupid and is being a terrible asshole, but they’ve been friends since he lost his parents. If Kakashi were to hurt him… Iruka wouldn’t be able to look at him the same.

Just as Kakashi looks close to doing something stupid, an ANBU appears in the room. He’s wearing a Neko mask, and he doesn’t try to touch Kakashi but his appearance seems to unnerve him in some way. 

The Alpha cuts off his chakra again, snarling at Mizuki, then turns towards the ANBU. “I’ll go,” he snaps, disappearing in a swirl of leaves.

The Neko mask turns towards Iruka as soon as Kakashi is gone, but he also leaves in a shunshin, the same way he came.

Everyone is staring. Iruka can feel the eyes burning into him, and he can’t do anything but scowl at the table and silently curse Mizuki for his stupidity. Why does he feel like this is his fault?

Standing from the desk, Iruka slams his hands on the table, making several of the less-experienced Shinobi flinch and stare. “If you’re not here for a mission or report, get out!” He snaps, scowling until people start filing out. He’s left with an almost-empty room, and he sits back down as he takes a report from a shy Chuunin Omega.

“Thank you for your hard work,” he mutters, not meeting her eyes as he stamps the scroll and files it away.

The day started out so well, too. He ignores Mizuki for the rest of it, not willing to look into his face.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I had to literally scrap this entire chapter and rewrite it... twice...
> 
> Please enjoy.

He’s halfway to his house when he runs into Neko. Quite literally, the ANBU appears in front of him, and he doesn’t have time to react before he’s smacking into the other Shinobi. Neko is a wall, and Iruka yelps as he bounces off him, starting to fall, but strong arms catch him easily before he can land.

The ANBU can’t be any older than he is, based on his size and physique, but he’s obviously leagues above him.

“Umino-san. I’m glad I caught you.” The voice behind the mask is definitely young, and Iruka wonders for a moment if he’d meant to make that pun. “Can we speak privately?”

The elite Shinobi is so polite that it throws the Chuunin off for a moment, but when his head tips to the side as he waits for an answer, still holding Iruka steady, it makes him flush in embarrassment at his bewilderment. “Of course, ANBU-san. Um-” he pulls away and stands, gesturing in the direction of his apartment “I’m just going home, so… it’s just ahead.”

The ANBU nods but otherwise doesn’t respond, so Iruka resumes his path across the rooftops. It only takes a minute to get to his apartment, and he carefully unlocks the door and lowers his wards, only hesitating for a moment before he does so. If this ANBU wanted to hurt him, he wouldn’t need to wait until he let him inside.

Iruka removes his shoes on the genkan, both worried and relieved when the masked Shinobi does the same. It’s polite and not the kind of thing that he would do on a mission, but that means this isn’t official business. What would an ANBU need from him in an unofficial capacity?

Obviously, it all leads to Kakashi and his outburst.

“Would you like some tea, ANBU-san?” He offers, starting some anyway when he shakes his head. The Omega needs some tea, even if it isn’t shared with his guest.

The ANBU follows him into his kitchen and watches him prepare his cup, seeming curious. It’s unnerving, but Iruka waits for the other man to speak. 

He doesn’t have to wait long. “Umino-san. What do you know about the Chuunin that Kakashi-senpai was threatening earlier?” The question throws him off, not at all what he expected, and Iruka looks up so quickly he spills some of the water he’d been pouring.

He curses and takes the moment that he needs to wipe it up before he answers, feeling unsteady. “Mizuki-kun? He’s a friend, he’s just kind of stupid in social settings sometimes… he doesn’t mean to be rude.” He isn’t sure why he feels the need to defend what the asshole said. “He was an orphan too, and he didn’t have the best childhood. It’s left him a bit rough around the edges, but he’s a loyal friend.”

The ANBU does that little head tilt again, the same way Kakashi does, and Iruka realizes that he’d referred to Kakashi as his senpai. Who could this Shinobi be, to be the kohai of someone like Kakashi? “I see. He’s your friend, but he disrespects you like that quite often, then.” His tone isn’t judging, just flat, but it still makes Iruka stiffen.

“He doesn’t-” he starts, but then pauses as he thinks about what he’s about to say. Actually, Mizuki does. He does this a lot. It’s frustrating to hear someone else pointing it out, though. “-mean it. He says those things, but he always comes back to hang out, and…”

The excuse sounds weak, even to his own ears. Has he been spending time on a friendship like that for nothing? The ANBU hums softly. “I’m not judging you, Umino-san. I’m merely worried. Kakashi-senpai… he doesn’t do things in halves. If this is going to be a continuing issue, it will need to be watched, that’s all.” His tone is so even, voice so flat, that it almost doesn’t feel like a warning, but Iruka can hear one in there.

Iruka clears his throat and looks away. “I don’t know if it will continue,” he mumbles, feeling a bit lost and unsure of himself.

Suddenly, a hand is on his shoulder, almost in a comforting gesture, though the firmness of it makes it a bit more intimidating. “I will watch, then, Umino-san. Please take care of yourself, though. You don’t deserve to be insulted. You’re a good Shinobi.” His voice softens, no longer so flat, and somehow it makes the Omega want to cry.

He has to clear his throat again, eyes still on the floor. “Thank you, Neko-san. You’re a good person,” he whispers.

If he hears a gasp and the other Shinobi is gone when he looks back up, there’s no reason to believe it’s because he’s never been told that before.

Iruka leaves the tea on the counter, forgetting about it as he goes to shower.

After that strange encounter, the Chuunin decides he needs a break. He reads. He makes new bomb tags. He cleans and sharpens every weapon in the house, including the ones he has hidden in his traps. He’s on edge.

Where did Mizuki get off on being such a huge asshole? Why had Kakashi reacted that way? Was it because of what Neko said, that he didn’t do things in halves and he was already…

Iruka considers a possibility. A future.

He can see himself waking up in a bed full of dogs. Sees himself stretching against a pale chest and kissing soft pink lips, neither of them caring about morning breath.

He can see himself coming home from a mission, not to his studio apartment, but to a house, to a huge hot bath that he can stretch out in and let all his worries and aches be eased. He can see Kakashi there, too, touches gentle and words praising as he unravels him.

He can see Kakashi rubbing his pregnant stomach as he babbles to it, smiling at little silver-haired children, reading them a bedtime story, holding their hands as they walk to the academy…

He doesn’t realize that he’s completely lost in thought until someone knocks on his door and startles him out of his embarrassing thoughts. So appealing, but so far ahead of himself. He’s glad for whoever is knocking now.

That only lasts about two seconds before he opens the door to see Mizuki there, though. He’s got his hands shoved into his pockets, shoulders tense, and he’s pouting intensely, his face turned into almost a scowl.

Iruka can’t keep the grimace off his face, and it doesn’t go unnoticed. The Beta huffs, “what the fuck, Iruka? Why are you so mad over some asshole Alpha?” He pushes inside, and the Omega rolls his eyes but let’s him in. They’re friends, after all, even if they are fighting.

“I should be the one saying what the fuck, Mizuki,” he snaps, closing the door decisicively. They’re going to be having this discussion now, apparently. “He’s not an asshole, and you don’t need to embarrass me like that at our fucking workplace. Did you see Asuma’s face? Izumo and Kotetsu were in there, you jerk!”

Mizuki groans and rolls his eyes exaggeratedly. “Come on, Iruka, that guy was a total dick in there. You think that was bad for you? Imagine I felt after being reprimanded like a dog by Cold-Blooded Kakashi!” He complains, his tone annoyed and annoying.

Iruka can almost feel his eye twitching now, his face heated with anger. “Oh, so this is about you, now? Of course it is, because your reputation is more important than mine,” he growls, sarcasm dripping from every word.

The Beta just snorts, though, shrugging as if that’s obvious. “Well, we both know only one of us is going to be making Tokujo next year,” he sneers.

The words cut deep. So deep, and Iruka pulls back, anger lost as the shock and hurt take over. He can feel the blood drain from his face, and his mouth snaps shut before the retort he’d prepared can leave his lips.

He’s floored. Mizuki has said some shitty things to him, about him, but that insult isn’t one that he would have expected from him.

Turning quickly, Iruka opens the door, standing next to it and pointing out. “Get out. Now.” His voice is cold, all of him is cold, he’s not sure what warmth even feels like at this point.

The other man seems to realize his mistake, eyes going wide and the tension leaving his shoulders for the first time. “No, Iruka, I didn’t- I mean-”

Iruka cuts him off. “Get the fuck out of my house.” Still so cold, almost cold enough to burn.

Mizuki shakes his head, his scowl coming back, but he leaves. “Fine. I’ll see you at shift tomorrow, then,” he mutters as he walks out, but Iruka doesn’t answer, he just slams the door shut, locking it and throwing up his wards immediately.

He can’t believe that just happened. He remembers his interaction with Kakashi just that morning. The soft words and gentle touches. He thinks about the ANBU, Neko, who checked on him and squeezed his shoulder. Who told him that he should take care, that he was a good Shinobi.

He can’t believe that his best friend since he was 10 would say something so terrible, and that he would be hearing it on the heels of all that praise.

Iruka is in a daze as he flicks through the hand signs for something he almost never uses, a jutsu that he barely even knows and only learned once becoming a Chuunin.

He needs comfort, and he knows where to go to get it.

Performing the shunshin leaves him gasping and trying not to throw up, leaning against the wall of the Hatake compound just outside the gate. He can feel the buzz of wards, pushing his chakra at them as he struggles back to his feet. He probably shouldn’t have done it at all, it always makes him sick, either from chakra depletion or just the feeling of being displaced, but he needs…

Kakashi’s eyebrow shoots up as he pokes his head out the gate to see Iruka there. His surprise turns pleased for just a moment before he makes eye contact with the Omega, and then Iruka sees him stiffen, sees the look of anger at his undoubtedly-wrecked face. He doesn’t need anger, though, he doesn’t need the Alpha to defend his honor, he just needs him.

He should probably be embarrassed about the speed and force he uses to throw himself at the Jounin, and even more embarrassed that Kakashi still catches him with such ease. He can’t be, though, he can only think about how cold he feels, and how amazingly warm the pale skin is under his fingers, how soft that silver hair is, how lovely those mismatched eyes.

Kakashi carries him into the house, hands on his ass, another thing that Iruka would be embarrassed of if he was in his right mind. He’s shaking, but he barely notices, fumbling as he tries to pull down Kakashi’s mask to kiss him. It’s a greedy kiss, all tongue and teeth, and Iruka devours the Alpha’s mouth when it opens to him.

Every second without his hands on that pale skin is a second wasted, and Iruka struggles to peel off the layers of uniform from both of them, only breaking their kiss when necessary. He can’t register anything else until they’re in the bedroom and suddenly he’s sitting on the Alpha’s lap instead of being held up, and it’s wonderful because he can push Kakashi onto his back and finally they’re naked.

He’s panting as he finally breaks the kiss, moving his lips Kakashi’s neck and pulling groans from him as he attacks it with fervor. He can feel himself slowly warming, he’s not as cold as before, and he lets himself breathe as he runs teasing fingers over muscles that tremble and nipples that harden at his touch. He can’t stop his hands from shaking yet, but he still grips that beautiful hard cock and strokes it until the Jounin stops him, too close and not wanting to come before they’ve fucked.

Compared to the night before, Iruka knows that this is something entirely different and desperate. He lets Kakashi prepare him as he continues to suck marks into his neck and chest, but as soon as he feels ready he’s applying lube to the Alpha’s cock and sinking down onto it. He doesn’t wait, doesn’t give himself time like Kakashi did before, he lifts himself up almost immediately before sinking down again.

He sets the pace, and Kakashi rolls his hips up to meet every thrust down, fingers digging into the toned muscle of Iruka’s thighs. The first time he gets the angle right, it wrecks him, and he’s so glad when those hands slide up to his hips, gripping tightly to lift him and continue the rhythm. The pounding against his prostate heightens everything, and Iruka catches mismatched eyes, registering the Sharingan watching him closely just before he’s sent crashing into orgasm, head thrown back and eyes squeezing shut at the strength of it.

Kakashi’s hands tighten on his hips, and oh does he look forward to those bruises, as the Alpha comes inside him. That grip that has no doubt snapped the necks of many unfortunate souls is deliciously tight in Iruka’s post-orgasmic bliss, and he lets himself fall forward to rest against the strong chest that’s heaving beneath him. Both of them are out of breath and spent, muscles trembling and sweat dripping off them.

No words were spoken the entire time, and it’s such a stark contrast to the almost-sweet sex of before. It’s good, though, and neither of them is willing to break the silence or the contact they’re sharing, so they end up sleeping in a messy heap that’s sure to be sticky and uncomfortable by morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, lemme know what you think!
> 
> This literally took so long to get out... next chapter will hopefully come more smoothly.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The one with Kakashi’s POV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I’ve been really struggling to stay on-topic lately, because I just want to read ALL of the things. However. Here’s the new chapter! Things are progressing!

Kakashi wakes up feeling horribly gross but also extremely satisfied. He isn’t sure how he feels about that, but then he sees Iruka laying on his chest, and suddenly he can’t complain.

He had been entirely sure he’d spooked the Omega and would never be hearing from him again after his display in the mission room, and the conversation he had with Tenzou afterwards wasn’t exactly encouraging. Then, the feisty Chuunin showed up at his house, threw himself on him, and proceeded to fuck his brains out.

Kakashi isn’t sure what to expect when Iruka wakes up, so he inhales what he can of his scent, sticking his nose into that tangled brown hair to pick up the hint of cinnamon he can only catch in close proximity. If only the Sharingan could record more than video.

He closes his eyes and plays back the look of rapture that is Iruka’s face in orgasm. His eyes shut tight, his lip caught between his teeth, his eyebrows knit together… it’s enough to make his dick stir, and Kakashi wills it away, not wanting to disturb the sleeping Omega.

If only he’d been able to control himself more when that little shit called Iruka a slut. Now he has to wonder if he’ll be forgiven, wonders if maybe he should have already started his apologizing. Is it too early in the morning to order Ichiraku? He walked past the booth yesterday and noticed Iruka’s scent lingering there. He must be a regular. Maybe if Kakashi offers to take him…

The breathing on his chest changes just slightly, and Kakashi knows Iruka is waking up. He slides a hand up the Omega’s back, letting his fingers slip into his hair and his nails scratch lightly at his scalp. He’s rewarded with a low moan, the sound rumbling through his chest, and once again he feels arousal pool in his gut. He pushes it back. This isn’t the time for that.

Sleepy brown eyes flutter open as Iruka shifts to look up at him, and the slow grin that breaks out on his face is gorgeous. Kakashi could stare at him forever. Iruka pushes himself up onto his forearms, and the tug of dried sweat and semen between them is uncomfortable. They both grimace and look down.

“Shower?” Kakashi offers quietly, still hesitant to speak and break the strange silence that’s been hovering.

Iruka nods. “Please,” he mumbles, his cheeks going a bit pink.

One word answers is better than not speaking, so Kakashi hums happily and shifts to reposition the little Omega for easier carrying as he stands up. There’s no use bothering with yukata this time, not for the short trip to the shower, so he just hopes that the pack knows enough to stay out of the way. He doesn’t want to embarrass Iruka.

The brunette surprises him by speaking again as they enter the hall. “Kakashi… I’m sorry about- showing up like that. I wasn’t thinking straight, and-” he cuts off with a whimper as Kakashi tries to ease him down to his feet in the bathroom.

Shit, he’d been so tight and perfect last night. It shouldn’t be surprising that he’s so sore now, he wasn’t exactly careful with himself. Kakashi doesn’t put him down, standing back up straight and adjusting his grip. “Are you going to be okay to stand in the shower? We should’ve cleaned up last night… I can hold you, if you want me to-” he’s halfway through his offer when a tan hand comes up to his jaw, silencing him effectively.

“I’m okay. Put me down. Just- gently,” Iruka assures him, smiling around a wince as he’s placed on his feet. He doesn’t wobble, doesn’t flinch, just nods and smiles. “Perfect. Now, let’s get clean, and then… I think we should talk.”

Kakashi’s gut twists at those words, even someone as antisocial as him knows that’s a bad sign, but he keeps his face blank as he thinks of a distraction. “We can do that. Can I suck you off in the shower first?”

Iruka’s face is turned away from him, adjusting the water temperature in careful increments to what appears to be ‘scalding’, but Kakashi sees a blush start to spread down his neck. “Uh- if- if you want to,” he stutters adorably, bringing a hand up to rub the back of his neck and not turning around.

Ah, so he isn’t entirely in the doghouse. Maybe Iruka isn’t too mad about the Mission Room Situation. Feeling almost faint with relief, he edges closer, sliding his hands across those tan hips. “I want to. Your cock is so pretty, I want to taste you, want to swallow every drop as you come down my throat,” he whispers the words against that blushing neck, pressing kisses there.

Iruka’s scent spikes with arousal, the way Kakashi has noticed it does when he voices his desire. He hadn’t even noticed he was talking the first time, and he’s sure he would have been embarrassed if it didn’t so obviously turn on the little brunette. Iruka lets out a small whine as the Alpha sucks on his neck. “K-Kakashi, we- we gotta get in the shower first.”

A low growl rumbles through his chest as Kakashi nuzzles him, and he almost doesn’t have the self-control necessary to stop when Iruka purrs in response and his head drops to the side in submission.

Dangerous territory. Kakashi just presses a kiss there and forces himself to pull away.

Iruka’s words need to be respected more than his instincts. Kakashi knows he made the right choice when the Omega turns a bright smile to him. How can anyone in their line of work smile like that? How can someone look so lonely one minute and smile like that the next?

His returned smile is shy by comparison, but it’s more than he has in a long time. “Of course. Right. Is that really the temperature you want it at?” He’s skeptical of the steam that’s billowing off the water, the way he can feel the heat even from outside the glass.

The brunette’s confused face is enough of an answer. “Is that not hot enough?”

Omegas are so weird about temperature. Kakashi had forgotten. He keeps his smile in place as he shoves thoughts of Obito away. Not the time.

“It’s fine. Let’s get in so we can clean up and I can make a mess of you again.” He’s rewarded with another wonderful blush and sly smile, and Iruka steps under the spray quickly, practically melting as his muscles relax. Kakashi watches the tension release from his body.

“Ugh, the water in the Chuunin barracks never gets this hot,” Iruka groans, not even trying to do anything but bask in the heat.

Kakashi slips in behind him, holding back a wince as he catches just the edge of the spray. “The barracks have terrible water heaters,” he agrees, taking the opportunity to gently pull his Omega into a better position for him to rub shampoo into his hair.

Iruka goes easily, tipping his head forward slightly to give him room to work. “You don’t have to… I can do that,” he mumbles half-heartedly.

“I want to,” the older man chuckles and lays a kiss on the nape of his neck, right where he would mark him. It’s bold, he knows, but the shiver that goes through the smaller body is well worth the risk.

“Okay,” is all the response he gets, but it’s enough, and Kakashi goes to work in earnest.

He massages shampoo into the long hair, careful not to pull it, then rinses and does the same with the conditioner. Long, pale fingers rub soothing circles of soap into tan muscles, so thorough that there isn’t an inch of Iruka left that isn’t clean.

The Omega is shuddering in his arms by the end of it, hard and hot, and Kakashi coaxes him into leaning against the wall so that he can drop to his knees and worship his cock with his lips.

“K-Kakashi, please,” Iruka whines, his hands tangling in silver hair and tugging just enough to make Kakashi moan around him.

It’s not a very specific request, but the Alpha sucks harder and takes him in all the way to the root, burying his nose in soft, brown curls. He presses a finger into the tight heat of Iruka’s ass, twists at just the right angle, and…

The taste of Iruka’s cum in his mouth, down his throat, is one that Kakashi never wants to forget. He savors it, savors the sharp cry that Iruka lets out as he comes, savors the way his fingers grip so tightly in his hair, and the little mewling sounds he makes when Kakashi licks up every drop. The Omega tastes like heaven, a salty and bitter and addictive heaven.

Iruka pushes him away with a groan when he gets to the point of overstimulation, and Kakashi takes the opportunity to come up for a kiss. His mouth still tastes like Iruka, and the Omega makes a sound of protest when their tongues meet. Kakashi reluctantly retreats, still peppering chaste kisses in his lips, cheeks, the scar across his nose. He puts off his own shower, continuing to pet and nuzzle and kiss Iruka until the Chuunin is steady on his feet again.

“That was embarrassingly fast,” Iruka sighs, still leaning against the wall as Kakashi kisses his neck.

“I did a very good job of working you up beforehand,” Kakashi argues, smirking as that gets him a snort.

“Ah, who would think Sharingan Kakashi was so modest,” he deadpans, brown eyes betraying his amusement when they meet grey.

“I’ve been told I’m a genius all my life. It has to go to my head at some point.” His tone is also flat, but he can feel his lips twitching upwards.

“Oh, really? I wouldn’t have known from those mission reports you turn in. Did they forget to teach you how to write at genius school? Ninja skills only?” The tone is playful, but it still makes him wince and Kakashi’s smile turns sheepish.

“Well, that’s actually… I thought you were so cute when you got angry,” he mumbles the end of it, turning away to grab the shampoo again, this time for himself. He still hasn’t actually showered.

Iruka laughs, an unexpected reaction, and the sound is so loud in the confined space that it almost hurts. But it’s so happy that Kakashi really can’t care. “You’ve been messing up your reports-” he gasps for breath “-because you thought that I-” another gasp “-was cute when I yelled at you?”

Definitely not the expected reaction. He once again feels almost dizzy with relief as he soaps himself up. “I know it isn’t exactly conventional flirting, but you did remember me,” he points out.

The laughter has died down to a light chuckle, but Iruka is beaming at him so brightly it’s like looking at the sun. “Remembered that you’re a reprobate,” he teases.

Kakashi can’t keep the smile off his face as he leans in to steal one more kiss before turning off the shower. “Still counts.”

Iruka shakes his head and his smile softens. It’s amazingly fond and beautiful. “Maybe,” he murmurs, confession soft, before he rolls his eyes and his tone goes back to teasing, “but we need to move it before I have to go to my mission desk shift.”

“Oh, am I going to make you late? What will people say?” He fakes shock, but he does get out, grabbing a towel for each of them.

Iruka snorts, “that you’re rubbing off on me.”

He blushes such a bright red that Kakashi can’t help but laugh, “if they only knew.”

They lapse into a comfortable silence as they dry themselves off, and Kakashi wishes briefly that he’d done his laundry yesterday so he wouldn’t be giving Iruka such an oversized yukata. He looked so nice in the light blue, but the darker blue that he gives him now is still pretty against his tan skin.

Maybe the Omega just looks good in anything, he thinks as he stares.

Iruka breaks him out of the thought by taking his hand and leading him out of the bathroom. It may only be his second time in the house, but he seems to know where he’s going as he pulls Kakashi through the hallway and into the main living room. He doesn’t stop pulling until they’re both seated on the couch, turned toward each other, and the Alpha takes a moment to admire the determined resolve in those brown eyes.

“You’re so pretty,” he sighs before he even realizes it, and the pink that dusts those cheeks along the scar is worth his embarrassment at losing his composure.

“Thank you,” Iruka answers, then clears his throat, “we do need to talk, though. About yesterday.”

Kakashi pushes his emotions back, nodding and keeping his face carefully blank. “Right. What did you want to talk about?” After Tenzou visited yesterday, briefly stopping in to tell him about his conversation with Iruka, he’d known that there would be some kind of repercussions. He’s just not sure what Iruka is thinking.

“Kakashi… I don’t know what Alpha instincts are like.” Iruka is always surprising him, and he blinks at that, but the Omega continues. “I do know that there’s a lot of… possessiveness that people talk about. Like they own their partner.” Brown eyes meet his, and there’s a fire there that dries his mouth. Iruka really is so sexy when he’s like this. “I am not an object to be owned. I don’t need someone to step into arguments with my friends. I don’t want anyone to try to control my relationships with others.”

He pauses, and Kakashi takes the moment to speak up. “I don’t want that either.”

That seems to get his attention. The brunette stares at him, eyebrow quirking when he doesn’t go on. “You don’t?” He prompts.

“No. I don’t want to own you. I want-” Kakashi isn’t the best at communicating his feelings, but he’s glad that Iruka is patient as he struggles to articulate it. “-a partner. I’m sorry about yesterday. I don’t think you need someone to defend you, I’ve been on the receiving end of your wrath enough times to know you’re capable.”

Iruka is looking at him warily, still not entirely letting go of the fire that prompted him to even start this discussion. “I won’t deal with someone intimidating my friends. Especially to the point of ANBU interfering. Never again.” It’s a promise, not a threat, that hangs in the air between them heavily.

Kakashi nods. Even if it was just Tenzou, not official ANBU involvement, he knows how it looked. “Never again,” he agrees, and maybe some internal part of him winces at the thought of not being able to smash that stupid beta’s face in, but he is more than his instincts. Iruka matters more than his pride.

That thought should probably scare him, but it sends a pleasant shiver down his spine instead.

Iruka rewards him with a hesitant hand on his, staring at their fingers where they card together. “I was expecting a bit more resistance than this, honestly,” he admits quietly, his eyes softer when he looks back up.

“Well, hopefully it’s a pleasant surprise?” Kakashi’s tone turns it into a questions as he lightly squeezes his hand, and he feels like he’s once again being rewarded as Iruka’s smile returns.

“It is,” he says, looking back down at their hands, “a very pleasant one.”

“Does that mean we can have sex again before your mission desk shift?”

“No. I need to eat before my shift.”

“Damn.”

“But you can buy me lunch.”

“Almost as good. Let me guess. Ramen.”

“Ichiraku’s ramen is the only way into my heart.”

“I knew it.”

Their easy back and forth ends in chuckles and smiles and pink cheeks, and they’re both reluctant to move, but their stomachs make them.

Lunch is delicious, even if Kakashi never really liked ramen before. He thinks he can learn to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed it! We’re getting into some time skipping here, because this story is going to take place over a matter of months but has a relatively simple plot.
> 
> Let me know what you think!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this chapter is a mess. It’s a roller-coaster. And it has Shisui and Tenzou! I never plan to put these guys in, it always just sort of happens!
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy this!

Iruka has always hated being cold. It’s one of those things that’s just biological, built into his Omega brain. His heats make him hot, so hot that he finds himself shivering even in the summer. Even outside of them, he knows he runs a couple of degrees warmer than an Alpha or Beta.

Having a heat in the winter time is the worst, and Iruka wonders, as the end of November approaches, how Omegas even survive in colder places. His heat is scheduled to start in a week, and he’s already cold and annoyed about this. The upside, though, is that he actually has someone to spend it with that won’t be just another rutting Alpha or vaguely-exhausted-from-too-much-sex Beta.

He has Kakashi.

They’ve been going at it for the last month, with no signs of their sexual appetites slowing down, and he’s starting to get excited about having a heat with him. He’s been going on missions and coming back, not to his apartment, but to the Hatake compound. If Kakashi’s home, they fuck. If not, he soaks in the onsen and pets his dogs and waits until he is so they can fuck. Kakashi goes on sporadic missions, being called away during the night sometimes, but he hasn’t taken anything that lasted longer than a week.

The week of his heat is going to be glorious, he knows it. He can’t wait to be knotted.

He tells himself that this has nothing to do with his desire for kids. Nothing at all. It’s just because he likes to take knots. He’ll have to make sure that he goes into the hospital beforehand to get the in-heat birth control.

A report drops onto the table in front of him, startling him from his daydreams about how amazing Kakashi’s knot will be. Asuma is standing in front of him, looking unimpressed.

“You’ve been out of it lately, Iruka. You doing okay?” He asks as Iruka takes his scroll and scans it. Asuma’s reports are always good. His dad is the Hokage, so they kind of have to be.

He finds only one smudged word, and it’s legible enough to read. “Well, I’m a bit preoccupied… but not about anything bad,” he assures him, smiling as he stamps the report. “I have a new… partner, actually. I know you were here when-” Shit, why is he mentioning that?

Mizuki is studiously ignoring him from his left, staring at a report. Asuma lifts an eyebrow at his nervous glance, and Iruka just shakes his head. “Well, I’m sure you know. Things are good. I’m doing okay.” The Alpha is the closest thing Iruka has to a brother, so he knows he’s just being protective. 

The tight-lipped look doesn’t leave Asuma’s face, though. “You’re still with Hatake, then?”

Iruka stills at the bluntness and flat tone, eyes narrowing at him. “Yes. Very happily.”

His conviction has always been strong, and Asuma gives him another assessing look before he smiles and pulls out a cigarette. “Glad to hear it. Is that acceptable, then?” He gestures to the scroll with the hand that holds his lighter, and Iruka finds himself relaxing and smiling back.

He doesn’t need his approval, but having it somehow makes him feel a bit better. Maybe it’s because he’s looked up to Asuma for so long. “Yeah, it’s good, actually. Thank you for your hard work, Asuma.”

The jounin shoots a wave over his shoulder as he walks away, and Iruka waves back. There isn’t anyone else in line, and few people have been hanging around the mission desk today. Saturdays are always slow, and usually that isn’t a bad thing, but…

Mizuki stamps the report he’s been holding, dismissing the Chuunin that handed it to him. “Thank you for your hard work,” he says, voice tight but polite, and Iruka knows before he even says anything that he was listening to the conversation with Asuma.

He’s been such an ass about Kakashi, and they’ve been avoiding the subject both of that and of his outburst about Iruka not making Tokujo. The Beta hasn’t mentioned it again, but the thought still burns like bile in Iruka’s throat.

“Very happily, huh?” Mizuki mutters, his arms crossed over his chest and his face turned away from Iruka, eyes forward.

God, why is this the hill he chooses to die on? “Yeah, Mizuki. Very. He’s been training with me, actually. He thinks that my seal work and traps are what I should focus on for the tokujo evaluations.” Iruka should probably regret bringing that up. He might, later. But getting Mizuki to look at him, eyes narrowed, just makes him smirk.

“When are you going to let that go, Iruka?” The white-haired man huffs, rolling his eyes and turning away from him again. “Come on, it was one fight.”

It was one fight that Iruka can’t help but think about every time he sees his friend or goes on a mission. “You still haven’t apologized, so I still haven’t let it go,” he growls, crossing his own arms and trying not to let his face twist itself into a scowl. It’s hard.

“Well, I’m sorry that it upset you,” Mizuki deflects, and all that hard work was wasted as Iruka’s face wins the fight and he scowls.

“That’s not a real apology,” he snaps, “that’s just you trying to placate me without admitting you’re wrong.”

“Am I wrong, though?” The words are grumbled, so quiet that Iruka almost doesn’t hear them, but they sting. It’s an insult all over again.

“Yes. You are. And I’m going to prove it. I’ll not only make tokujo, I’ll make jounin. And when I do, you’ll apologize.” His tone is getting too harsh, too loud, and he can feel eyes on them again, but all he can see is the sneer on Mizuki’s face and all he can hear is the derisive snort he gets in response.

“Fine. Why not? I’ll apologize when you make jounin. But do you know who the last jounin Omega was? Uchiha Itachi,” he snaps the name like it’s a curse and Iruka flinches.

Itachi is the youngest jounin in current rotation, speculated to be in ANBU, and a well-known genius. He’s the only Omega currently on active duty. Even Anko is only tokujo.

That isn’t going to deter Iruka when he’s this angry, though. “Well, he better be ready to share the fucking spotlight, then,” he growls, “I may not be a genius, but I work hard enough to make up for it.”

A soft cough across the desk interrupts their argument, and Iruka realizes that someone has come up to turn in a report. He and Mizuki had completely ignored their presence, turned toward each other and leaning close as they spat words across the distance.

Uchiha Shisui is standing in front of the desk, his face politely blank and eyes on Iruka. “Do you have a minute?” His tone is also polite, but his eyes are dark, flicking momentarily over to Mizuki before he tips his head toward the side of the room. “Alone, that is.”

Why do powerful shinobi keep wanting to talk to him alone? It isn’t like he can say no when this is being requested by a superior, though. “Of course, Uchiha-san,” he agrees, standing from the desk and not even looking back at the Beta before he follows the Alpha across the room.

He’s glad there aren’t too many people loitering today. The scolding he’s likely about to get is going to be embarrassing enough as it is. He really shouldn’t have said anything about Itachi. His stomach flips, and he feels almost faint as he pushes back his nausea.

Shisui surprises him by putting up a quick privacy barrier, eyes scanning the room before he turns to Iruka and gives him a smile. What?

“Umino-san, I don’t want to interfere with your personal affairs,” he starts, voice low and calming, “but I do want to make sure that you’re okay. Kakashi-taicho is very fond of you, and…” He throws another look around the room. Iruka can only assume that he’s checking if anyone is reading his lips, but he isn’t sure why. “...well, too much stress really isn’t good for a baby.”

There’s a roaring in his ears, like the ocean in a storm, and Iruka just stares, completely dumbfounded. What is he talking about? “What are you talking about?”

Shisui’s smile is a bit strained as he glances toward Iruka’s abdomen and then back up. “It’s okay if you haven’t announced it yet, the scent is vague enough that I doubt Kakashi has even noticed, but… I won’t tell him anything if that’s what you’re worried about,” he assures, putting his hands up, “I just want to make sure that you’re okay. You were angry enough just now to lose control of your scent, and-”

The roaring hasn’t died down, and now Iruka really does feel like he’s going to be sick. He’d been so into the argument that he hadn’t noticed his chakra control slipping, or possibly had let his scent flare in an instinctive threat. Either way, he lost control, and Uchiha Shisui is looking at him as if he’s worried about him, and he doesn’t even know this Alpha.

That doesn’t stop him from throwing out a hand and grabbing his flak jacket when he starts to fall over, though. Okay, he really is faint now.

“I can’t be pregnant. I’m not. I haven’t had a heat. I haven’t- I’m on birth control.” He might be babbling, and as soon as he realizes this he once again feels the urge to throw up.

Or maybe faint.

Or maybe both.

He’s hyperventilating, and Shisui is holding his shoulders, his face nearly looking panicked now. “Umino-san. Please calm down. Do you want me to get you to a medic? Or get Kakashi? I’m sorry, Umino-san, I thought you would know.”

Iruka shakes his head, still holding onto the Alpha to keep upright. “No. No, I need to go home. I can’t- can you take me home? I’m in the chuunin barracks. Second floor. 2-b.”

Shisui glances around them again, then looks back and nods. “Of course, Umino-san. Please hold on tight.”

He isn’t known as Shunshin no Shisui for nothing, and though it usually would take two jumps to get them to the barracks, it’s only a second later that they’re standing inside Iruka’s apartment. How had he gotten through the wards? The thought is pushed from his head as his stomach heaves again, and the Omega stumbles into the bathroom to finally throw up.

The roaring in his head dies down as he empties his stomach, and he’s so glad his hair is already in a ponytail. Shisui is standing in his bathroom, hovering next to him, and if he had to hold his hair while Iruka was sick he isn’t sure if he’d ever live it down.

When he finally stops, panting from effort, he’s shaking. A glass of water and a wet cloth are pressed into his hands, and he takes them without questioning it. He feels numb. Maybe he’s in shock.

He’d just bragged to Mizuki that he was going to make jounin, and now he’s pregnant and that dream will be washed down the drain forever. No male Omega gets pregnant and then goes back to active duty. Their parental instincts are too strong, and the toll on their bodies too high. 

He wants kids, but he was going to wait. He was supposed to wait. They had talked about this when they talked about his heat.

What is Kakashi going to say?

“I’m sure he’ll be very happy, Umino-san. I don’t think you need to worry about Kakashi-taicho,” Shisui says, and Iruka is startled to realize he must have said that aloud. How much had he said aloud? “Do you think you can stand? You should lay down. I can go get a medic if you need one.”

He’s crying. When did that happen? He sniffles and forces himself to drink the water he’s still holding. “I can stand.” His voice is steadier than he feels when Iruka speaks, and he’s so thankful for that. “Can-” it cracks and he thinks he maybe was thankful too soon “-can you get Kakashi?”

He shouldn’t be asking this of an Alpha that doesn’t even know him, only recognizes him because apparently he’s Kakashi’s subordinate, but he can’t think clearly. He pushes himself to his feet and doesn’t flinch when Shisui steadies him. He lets himself be pulled toward his bedroom, and the air in the apartment is stale because he hasn’t been there for so long, but the bed is soft and clean and his head doesn’t spin so much as he lays down.

“I’ll be right back, Umino-san. Tenzou should know where he is,” Shisui mutters the last part to himself as he pulls away, and Iruka recognizes the name of Kakashi’s Beta kohai, so he just nods absently and tries not to think about what he’ll do if Kakashi reacts badly to this.

Shisui is gonna for just long enough that Iruka ends up calming himself down and then working himself back into anxiety again.

He’s going to have a baby. It’s no longer an abstract concept, it’s a real thing. He’s going to have Kakashi’s baby. There’s no way for it to be anyone else’s.

How did he get pregnant outside of heat? It’s so rare. It’s the kind of thing that only happens in cheesy romance novels, when an Omega meets her destined Alpha and they click immediately and then have crazy sex without protection because she isn’t in heat and…

Oh. Well. He supposed they may not have used condoms. At all. But he is on birth control. That should have kept anything from happening.

Except it wasn’t 100% effective. More like 93% effective.

And both of their hormones got really worked up whenever they even just saw each other.

Iruka feels like he’s going to throw up again as he realizes it’s been half an hour since Shisui left. Shisui is so fast, the fastest in the village since Minato. What if he’d told Kakashi that he was pregnant and Kakashi decided not to come? Would Shisui even come back to tell him?

A flutter of chakra in the room makes Iruka sit up. Shisui is there, with an ANBU next to him. It’s Neko. Kakashi isn’t there. His gut twists. “Where’s Kakashi?” His voice is so quiet he wouldn’t know they heard him if not for the tightening of Shisui’s lips.

“Kakashi is on a mission. He’s due back tomorrow. I brought Neko-san because…” He looks at Neko, who nods. “...he’s a Beta. I think he can help calm you down while your mate is gone.”

Iruka knows he should have technically brought a medic with him, not Neko, but he realizes it was considerate of him not to. A medic would be required to report his pregnancy. The report would be given to the Hokage. He isn’t sure what Hiruzen would think of him being pregnant with the child of one of Konoha’s best weapons.

Iruka knows Neko, and the thought of having him in his house doesn’t make him panic. Being around a complete stranger right now definitely would. Why is Shisui being so considerate?

The calming scent of the forest floods his room, and Iruka collapses back on his bed as he breathes it in. Neko is a very good Beta, he can smell all the comfort and calm and collected that comes so easily to most Betas in his scent. He really does smell like the forest, somehow. It brings a sense of calm to his scattered thoughts. He can breathe more easily and finally relax.

He’s going to have a baby. This is going to happen. Maybe his career path will change, maybe he won’t be able to become a jounin like his parents were. Maybe Kakashi won’t be entirely too happy about this.

He won’t be the last Umino anymore. He already isn’t, he realizes, dropping a hand to his stomach and pushing up his shirt so he can look at it.

His stomach is as smooth and muscular as ever. He can’t be more than a month along. If his scent is starting to change, he can’t be any less, either. It was their first night, then, or maybe the second. After that, it had been a week since they’d had sex. His scent wouldn’t be changing after only three weeks.

He wonders if his child will have wild, silver hair and steel-grey eyes.

When he’s calm and can sit up again, he sees that Shisui is still there, talking quietly with Neko. They're friends, or maybe even mateS, with how close they stand together. He clears his throat. “Thank you, Neko-san, Uchiha-san.”

Attention back on him, Neko nods and Shisui smiles. “You’re back, then? That’s good. I really am sorry that my lack of thought caused this, Umino-san. But please, call me Shisui. There are too many Uchihas.” His smile turns apologetic, and Iruka really can’t help but smile back.

“I’m glad that you said something. It was a stupid argument, anyway,” he sighs, actually feeling a little ashamed to have let Mizuki provoke him like that in the middle of the mission room. Again. “I didn’t even realize I let my scent slip. That would have been a lot more embarrassing if you didn’t step in.”

He’d done so in such a way that it didn’t seem like he was being controlling, too. It was the way that a Beta would do things, not usually an Alpha, and Iruka finds himself thinking again that it’s likely these two are mates. Neko is such a calming presence, even when his scent is locked down again.

The contrast to Mizuki is once again stark in his mind. Maybe he should reconsider how he thinks about his friend.

“Kakashi-senpai will be back tomorrow. He wouldn’t have left without telling you if it hadn’t been urgent,” Neko surprises him by saying. A lot of Kakashi’s missions are entirely classified. Even being told the time frame is nice.

“Thank you, Neko-san. I think I’ll go to the compound. I want to be there when he gets back. If you could avoid telling anyone… I would appreciate it.” He knows that if Neko is here in an official capacity, it’ll end up in a report. He’s glad when the ANBU tips his head in agreement.

Shisui also nods. “We won’t be telling anyone, Umino-san. I just hope there weren’t any Inuzuka in the mission room. I can’t make promises about anyone else gossiping.”

“Right. I hadn’t thought of that,” Iruka grumbles, his hand still stretched across his stomach.

He’ll just have to hope that no one talks to Kakashi before he gets home. And then also hope that Kakashi isn’t upset.

It’s really happening. Iruka looks back down at his stomach. He’s not the last Umino anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, lemme know what you think!
> 
> We finally hit the pregnancy! This chapter really is a mess...


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, apparently I’m inspired again! Looks like my purge-writing yesterday worked well haha
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy this, I’m making up some history here, so... don’t judge me if it’s wrong lol

The next morning, Iruka realizes halfway into the water that he can’t take baths as hot as he did before. He can’t use the onsen, he can’t soak in 104 degree water and revel in the way it makes him relax. Raising his body temperature to that extent is dangerous now.

He also shouldn’t be going on B-rank missions anymore. With the higher risk of enemy engagement, and therefore a higher risk to his health, he’ll be pulled off the roster for them as soon as he goes in for his first checkup.

Are there foods he can’t eat now, too? He thinks he vaguely remembers that he’ll need to avoid spicy food. Not that he particularly likes spicy food, anyway.

He needs to start eating more fruits and vegetables.

He realizes he’s standing half in and half out of the water, shaking his head and going instead to take a shower. He can at least shower at his usual temperatures, right?

He keeps it short so that he won’t worry any more than he already is.

After his shower, he finds himself wandering through the grounds of the compound. None of the Ninken are in the main house, which is unusual, so he goes out in search of them. What he finds instead is what will surely be a beautiful garden come spring, the number and diversity of the plants making it hard to even tell what all is there. He does find a patch of herbs in one corner, recognizes some of them as plants that can be used for first aid in the field if necessary.

The garden path is overgrown, and he picks his way through it carefully. It’s obvious that no one has visited it in years, and he wonders why as he takes a closer look at the building that shields the garden from the rest of the compound. It’s sealed off, and he eyes the workmanship with respect and envy. The seal used is obviously custom, and he remembers vaguely that the Yondaime Hokage was Kakashi’s sensei. The work looks good enough to have been him.

Nothing good can come of poking around at something like that, so Iruka moves on, wandering toward the other end of the compound.

He finds the Ninken playing in an open area of grass next to the main house, though he knows they weren’t there when he left it. Pakkun is overseeing a game of tug of war, the little pug sitting in the shade of a tree. 

He looks up when Iruka approaches, and his frown turns into a lazy smile. “Did you miss us so much you had to come out here?”

The Omega can’t keep the smile off his face at that, and he sits cross-legged next to Pakkun to observe the game that’s still going on. “Oh, you saw right through me,” he sighs, feigning annoyance.

Pakkun’s smile spreads. “You’re not hard to see through, kid. Anyone ever tell you that you wear your heart on your sleeve?” He huffs a laugh.

Iruka rolls his eyes and crosses his arms, but his smile is still there. “I’m a shinobi. I can hide my emotions when I need to. I just don’t feel the need to wear a mask all the time, unlike some people.”

The laugh turns into a bark instead of a huff, and the Ninken is definitely grinning now. “I’ll be sure to tell the boss you said that. That brat shouldn’t still be wearing that thing, he only started when-” his words cut off and Pakkun looks away.

He shouldn’t push. He knows he shouldn’t. He’s terribly curious. “Was he young?” Iruka asks, voice soft, and he finds his hand straying to lay on his stomach. Did Kakashi start wearing that mask when he was just a kid? Why?

Pakkun isn’t answering, though, he’s looking at his hand, the one that’s lying on his stomach, and Iruka sees his eyes widen and his nose twitch before he meets his eyes. “He was very young,” the pug whispers, still looking a little star-struck, “it was just after his mother died.”

He doesn’t know how Hatake Hikari died, just that it was very long ago. Everyone knows that the White Fang was a single parent before he- “That’s a long time to wear a mask,” Iruka sighs back, his eyes dropping to his stomach, “how did she die?”

Ears draw back, brown eyes fall to the grass in front of them, and Pakkun seems to shrink. “Complicated pregnancy. She- she was a really good mate for Sakumo. He blamed himself. She tried so hard, even when she was sick.”

Iruka thinks of the garden, the back corner of it full of herbs, and his stomach drops. He shouldn’t have been there, shouldn’t have seen that. He shouldn’t be having this conversation right now, either, but he can’t stop. “Does he look like her?”

A soft sigh and a shuffling of paws makes him wonder if he won’t get an answer. But Pakkun presses against his leg, then, leaning against him. “It’s the birthmark. She had one just like it.”

Iruka didn’t notice when the game stopped, but he notices as the other seven Ninken cuddle up to him as well. They’re all pushing close, and he welcomes the warmth of them in the chill morning air. “Thank you for telling me.”

Pakkun, now in his lap, presses his shoulder against Iruka’s hand, nose once again twitching. “Are you gonna tell us now?”

Of course he couldn’t hide it from them once he knew. He’d given himself away when he put his hand there, and now they’re all looking at him, sniffing him, trying to catch the scent he’s been suppressing. He sighs and lets go of his chakra, lets it release his natural scent into the air, and all of them notice immediately.

They shuffle and whine and press closer to him. Pakkun looks closer to tears than he thought a dog could before now. “It’s his? The pup?”

Iruka should probably be offended by that question, but he just nods. “Yeah. It’s his.” He smiles, bright and happy, then thinks of a small Kakashi, looking at his face and seeing his mother, his mother who died because she- “Do you think-” he struggles with the words “-do you think he’ll be happy?”

Pakkun gives him that lazy smile from the beginning of their conversation, though his eyes are still wet when he answers, “I know he will be, kid.”

^~^

The waiting isn’t so bad after that, especially when he decides to return to the house and the dogs all pile onto the couch with him while he reads a book on seals. It’s one he probably shouldn’t be reading, so advanced that some of the theory threatens to give him a headache, but he’s stubborn enough to reread passages until he can fully understand them and move on.

Seals have always come easier to him than ninjutsu. He notices the book has the Uzushio spiral in the front and wonders if maybe the Umino family is so small because they were already mostly wiped out long before his parents died.

It’s almost dinner time when he pulls himself away, and Kakashi still isn’t back. He controls his anxiety by going to the market, buying ingredients, and returning to the compound to cook. He makes eggplant miso soup, at Pakkun’s suggestion. He’s never had it before, let alone made it, but the pug sits on a stool next to the counter and gives him instructions and they end up with something delicious.

It isn’t as good as ramen, but he doesn’t think he can go to Ichiraku’s and eat in public like everything’s normal.

The food is still warm but he’s finished eating and is working on the dishes when Kakashi gets home. The slide of the door alerts him, and he strains his ears to hear whisper-soft steps, a courtesy to even be audible at all. He swallows hard and freezes at the sink. He hasn’t reigned in his scent since that morning, and he knows the house must smell like him.

Him and their baby.

Kakashi approaches slowly, and Iruka tries not to let his hands shake. Even with Pakkun’s assurance, he’s nervous. What if he was wrong? He doesn’t get long to think about it before Kakashi is behind him, and strong hands take his shoulders carefully, turning him around.

Kakashi’s mask is already pulled down, and he drops his face into Iruka’s neck before he can see his expression. The Alpha breathes in deeply, nose trailing up the side of his neck, sending a shiver down his spine. Hands are still on his shoulders, and they tighten just a bit as Kakashi leans back.

His face is closed off, cautious. “Iruka. You smell different.”

Iruka nods. “I do,” he agrees, chewing his lip and meeting that grey eye, “do you recognize the smell?”

The thought that Kakashi possibly hadn’t been around a pregnant Omega hadn’t really occurred to him until just then, but Kakashi shakes his head, leans in again for another deep sniff, and Iruka knows when it clicks. The hands on his shoulders relax, the Alpha drops to his knees, and suddenly there’s a face buried in his stomach.

“K-Kakashi, what are you-” he’s cut off as arms wrap around his waist, his shirt is pulled up, and the cold metal of Kakashi’s headband on his abs makes him gasp.

Words are muffled against his skin, “You’re having a pup.”

His tone is soft, reverent again in that way it was on their first night together, and Iruka isn’t nervous anymore. Why had he ever doubted his Alpha? He threads his fingers into soft grey hair and nods even though Kakashi can’t see it. “We’re having a pup.”

He does look up, then, and the hope in his eye is beautiful. “We are?”

Iruka can’t do more than nod, but it’s enough, and a grin spreads across that gorgeous face, somehow making him look even more so, before he’s peppering kisses onto Iruka’s stomach, whispering between each one. “A pup, oh my god, how did this- we made this, you’re the best mate, the best Omega-” His words cut off suddenly, and the hands at his back clench, but Kakashi just keeps nuzzling his abs.

Warmth blooms in him, quickly turning into a fire that runs through his veins. They’ve fallen into this with such vigor that he can’t really slow down now. Words are choked in his throat, and he wants to tell him how much it means to him, to not be the last, to have a family. Are they a family already? Could they be? Does Kakashi want that? He has to ask.

He forces the words out, “Do you- You want this, then? Me? Us?” It’s hard to ask directly, to open himself up to the possible rejection, but he needs to know. 

It isn’t something they’ve discussed, just the vague concept of his upcoming heat forcing a discussion about children and how they should make sure to use protection. Because Iruka was serious about Kakashi helping him train, he had been fully preparing to make Tokujo at the start of the new year. That isn’t going to happen now, even if he wouldn’t be too far along to test.

Not with what he knows about Kakashi’s mother.

The moment stretches, his thoughts getting muddled by the change to his plans again, but they fall away as his Alpha looks up at him. “I want this, Iruka. You. Us.” His voice is just as intense as his gaze, and it makes Iruka’s legs wobble.

“I won’t let you down,” he breathes, feeling the tightness in his throat, in his chest, loosen with each word.

Kakashi huffs, and the corner of his mouth lifts in a half smile. “Isn’t that my line? You’re going to be doing all the real work, here.” His hands come around to splay across Iruka’s stomach, making the muscles jump at the ticklish sensation.

The Omega leans into the touch, a smile starting to spread over his face. “I will be doing the work, won’t I?” He hums thoughtfully, “I guess you’ll need to make it up to me.”

Kakashi’s eye lights up at that, and his lopsided smile grows. “We can start that now if you want.”

“I’d expect nothing less.”

^~^

Iruka has been meeting with the Hokage every week since he was 10. He was nervous at first, of course, because the meetings were set up when he started causing trouble around the village instead of paying attention at the academy.

He hasn’t been this nervous since they started playing shogi at them, though, a year into the meetings.

Sarutobi greets him as he usually does, with a cup of green tea that he gratefully accepts. He’s watching him more closely, though, eyes assessing in that way that they always are when Iruka misses a week. He missed last week, and he’s expecting this, but it doesn’t make it any easier not to fidget.

“You’ve been busy lately, Iruka-kun,” the Hokage muses, puffing his pipe casually.

That casual tone is anything but, and Iruka knows it. He also knows that Sarutobi gets a report of every injury and pregnancy of his active duty shinobi, and therefore knows that he went to the hospital last week to get a regime of vitamins and a check up.

He nods and smiles, though, keeping both hands around his cup. “I have been, Hokage-sama. I’m sorry about missing last week. I’m sure you know I went home early from the mission desk that day. I was sick.”

He’d certainly felt sick, anyway. He isn’t expecting the chuckle this gets from the older man. “Yes, so I heard. Uchiha-kun was an interesting replacement to find. There weren’t any of your fellow chuunin available?”

Iruka pauses, processing for a moment, but he knows he has to ask. “Uchiha-kun?”

He hadn’t gotten a replacement, he’d been too busy trying not to think about what he’d need to do if Kakashi rejected him. Now, he sees the glitter in Sarutobi’s eye and he wonders who- “Uchiha Shisui, of course. He did well for his first mission desk shift, I understand. Did you not ask him to replace you?” 

Damn it, old man, you know I didn’t ask a jounin to cover my shift at the mission desk, Iruka thinks, feeling his smile twitch. “Uh, no I didn’t. He did help me get home when I realized I was sick, though. I guess he took the initiative.”

Sarutobi smiles that knowing smile, finally cutting to the chase. “Are we going to discuss your reassignment, Iruka-kun?”

What? “Reassignment?” He can’t stop his hand from dropping to his stomach, worry making it clench. He’s going to be taken off active duty already?

The Hokage nods, eyes following his hand, and his smile turns softer. “I know you’ve wanted to follow in your parents’ footsteps. You have a Will of Fire that’s stronger than many of our forces, even those of higher rank than you,” he acknowledges, “but I think that there are places where you can excel, even with the recent development.”

Oh. What? Iruka blinks at him in confusion. “What do you mean, Hokage-sama? Not- not about the recent development. I know you’re aware that- that I’m pregnant,” saying that is still so weird, but very good weird, “but what are you thinking about in terms of reassignment? I thought I would still be going on C-ranks for a few months at least.”

He’d hoped. He wanted to. He still wants to.

The Sandaime has a plan, though, obviously. He’s got that look on his face that he always does when he knows he’s right, the look he gives before making the winning move in shogi. “You’ll be given a position as an assistant academy instructor, starting at the beginning of the year.”

Pre-genin. They want him to train pre-genin. “It’s already been decided, then.” His voice is flat, and he can see the frown tugging at the Hokage’s lips.

“Iruka-kun… does this seem like such a bad thing?” Maybe it shouldn’t, but somehow this does seem like a bad thing. It seems like a permanent thing. Knowing that no male Omega has gone back to active duty after a pregnancy and actually being reassigned into a permanent, new position are two very different things.

He tries not to show it, but it stings. “I’m happy to serve the village in any way, Hokage-sama. It just isn’t the way I was expecting to.” Technically, neither was shouting at people at the mission desk so that he can get half-decent reports from them, but… that’s somehow different.

Sarutobi hums and gives him a considering look as he puffs at his pipe. “Go to the academy tomorrow. Observe a class. I think you’ll see why I want you there.”

Iruka nods, resigning himself to spending the day getting a glimpse of his future. “Of course, Hokage-sama.”

Their visit is shorter than usual, and he leaves feeling worse than when he went in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eyyyy, you made it to the end! Good for you! I hope that means you liked it! Please let me know if you did, I want a reason to continue this!
> 
> It’s gotten longer than I was planning...


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am apparently very inspired these past couple days, so here ya go!
> 
> Please enjoy!

Nothing would have been able to prepare Iruka for what he finds at the academy, even with the neatly stacked file on each class.

He puts it off. He doesn’t want to go and see what the Hokage has in store for him. For the first time in years, he’s questioning Sarutobi.

He shouldn’t have, though.

Kakashi insists on walking with him, not something he normally does, but apparently there’s someone at the Academy that he wants to see. To check on. Iruka doesn’t ask questions, because he doesn’t want to go in the first place, but Kakashi packs him a bento for lunch and shoos him out the door with just enough time to arrive if they use a shunshin.

The Academy smells like a vague mix of different kids’ scents, because most of the kids there are too young to present and their scents are relatively muted but they also have less chakra control than the average grizzly bear. They stop just outside the fenced-in yard, giving him some time to settle his stomach after the shunshin, and Iruka looks at all the kids, some as young as 6, thinking about what their own child will look like at that age. It softens his mood a bit, which is good because-

Kakashi spots the kid he apparently wanted to see in the crowd of children as the bell rings for class to start.

The kid has spiky, blonde hair, bright, blue eyes, and whisker marks on his face.

The other children rush inside, but the blonde sits on the swing that hangs from the tree in the yard, staring after them wistfully.

Iruka stares at him, not even daring to breath.

Kakashi places a hand on his shoulder, startling him into looking up and meeting that grey gaze, and Iruka snaps out of the daze he’d been in. “That’s Naruto,” Kakashi sighs, glancing at the boy and then back to him, “can you watch out for him today? He’s- not had the best childhood.”

Not had the best childhood. 

“You mean…” Iruka is staring again. He can’t help it. Kakashi’s hand on his shoulder is all that anchors him to the present, but there’s something that’s so… unexpected. So lonely, he thinks. “Why is he so lonely?”

He didn’t mean to say it aloud, but Kakashi hums next to him, and when Iruka looks back up to see his eye is focused on the Academy doors, where all those children had just disappeared. “Their parents don’t like him, so neither do they. They don’t have to tell the kids why for them to see it.”

His tone is carefully neutral, and Iruka looks back at the swing, the little blonde that’s still there. “He’s not going in.”

Kakashi shrugs. “Can you blame him?”

That question. Can you blame him?

Can he blame the boy that has no friends for not wanting to go to school?

Can he blame the boy that holds the beast for killing his parents?

What is he asking?

Maybe both. Maybe neither. Iruka knows the answer to both questions immediately, though.

Turning back to Kakashi, he tugs his mask down quickly to plant a kiss on his lips, breathing his answer into them, “No.”

Then he turns away, patting his cheek gently and squaring his shoulders. Time to see what Sarutobi was talking about.

Iruka approaches Naruto with a smile. He places a hand on his shoulder, getting his attention. He lets his smile widen at the expression of confusion he gets. “Hi, Naruto-kun. I’m Umino Iruka. I’m visiting the Academy before I start teaching here, and I was wondering if you would like to show me your classroom?”

Those blue eyes are like oceans as they widen, and for a moment the blonde doesn’t say anything. Maybe he won’t, Iruka thinks. He’s surprised by a small hand taking his, though, and then Naruto beams at him, looking like he’s just offered him the world, and Iruka feels his heart constrict.

He could blame it on the Omega hormones, the pregnancy. He could blame it on his Alpha asking him to do this. He won’t blame it on anything but that amazingly bright smile.

“Sure, Iruka-sensei! Will you be teaching me how to be a ninja? I’m gonna be the best, you know! I’m gonna be Hokage someday! Believe it!” The kid’s voice is loud and clear, and his exuberance is completely counter to the way he’d just been staring off into space.

Iruka likes this version of Naruto much better. He looks nothing like a monster with that smile on his face. “I believe it, Naruto-kun.” He glances at Kakashi, still standing just outside the yard, and his expression is something unbearably soft, mask still down from Iruka’s kiss.

Naruto is gaping at him when he looks back, and Iruka ruffles his hair, drawing him out of his awe. “Right, right. Of course you do! ‘Cause it’s true! Uh, come on, Sensei, let’s go!”

It doesn’t occur to Iruka until much later that no one else has ever believed him before.

He follows the blonde inside, letting him tug him around by the hand, and they enter the classroom of Suzume (not the instructor that Iruka planned to observe, but he can change the plan), who looks at him with polite interest until she notices Naruto and her lips purse. She doesn’t say a word, and Iruka smiles down at Naruto. “Take your seat while I talk to Suzume-sensei, okay?”

The boy nods at him, eyes wide and trusting, and Iruka hasn’t earned that trust, it makes him almost sick to think that Naruto would trust him after one show of kindness. Okay, maybe he can blame some of this emotion on the hormones. His hand strays to his stomach, resting there as he gestures to speak with the class’s sensei in the hallway. She raises her eyebrows, lips still pursed, but follows him out.

The class erupts in whispers as soon as they exit, and it brings another smile to his face. What will the gossip say by the time they go back in? He gets right to the point. “Suzume-san, the Hokage sent me to observe a class today. He wants me to be an instructor, and- I’m not entirely convinced of the idea.”

He notices when her eyes drop to his stomach before returning to his face. “I’m not sure that my class would be the best to observe…”

“Umino Iruka. You can call me Iruka.”

She smiles, and it’s polite but not warm. “Iruka-kun. I have some troublemakers. I see you’ve already met one of them. Maybe you’d like to see the older kids? New teachers are usually given an older class.” She could be trying to be nice, but he’s already made up his mind.

He gives her a bright smile, patting his stomach in a way that he’s sure will be noticed. “I’d like to observe the younger kids, if you wouldn’t mind. I’m sure I can help keep the troublemakers in line. I was one myself, in my academy days.” He rubs the scar across his nose sheepishly, still smiling.

The out she tried to give him is now firmly denied, and she nods and smiles back. “Of course, Iruka-kun. Let’s not leave them alone for too long, then.” She heads back inside, and Iruka follows, taking a seat at the back of the class to observe.

If that seat just happens to be next to a certain blonde, the only empty seat in the classroom, well… Iruka isn’t complaining.

He is definitely going to complain after this lesson, though.

The academy is apparently a mess. Much like the mission desk was when Iruka first started taking shifts, actually. Six year olds that are barely able to sit still are expected to listen to lesson plans about the history of the Warring States Period? They’re expected to grasp that conceptually ambiguous description of chakra?

They’re expected to understand anatomical terms when referring to vital areas that can be targeted for kill shots?

Maybe during war times, when the academy was expected to churn out people like Hatake Kakashi. But now? When they were even done fighting with Kiri?

These kids didn’t have people training them from the age of 3 like people did when he was younger.

By lunch time, Iruka has a headache. He eats his bento next to Naruto, who has his own lunch of cup ramen (added to the list of things Iruka is going to complain to Sarutobi about), and answers all the questions the kids come to ask him about life as an active duty shinobi.

There are a lot of them. Mostly from civilian kids, but some of the clan kids even approach him.

“If you don’t have a clan jutsu, how do they decide what team you’ll work best with?” Yamanaka Ino asks.

Iruka chuckles. “I work with a lot of different teams. I do still have a specialty, of course. Mine are traps and seals.”

“What kind of missions do you go on that involve seals?” Inuzuka Kiba pipes up, his nose wrinkling in his confusion.

Iruka shrugs. “That varies. Sometimes it’s a capture mission, or one where enemy engagement has to be completely avoided. Sometimes I just need to be able to carry a lot of things inside a very small scroll.”

This spawns whispers around him, and wide-eyed looks. Fūinjutsu isn’t well-known since the death of the Yondaime.

Hyuuga Hinata surprises him by scooting in close and asking softly, “do you- are you, uh- are you pregnant, Iruka-sensei? That’s why you’re- not gonna be- be-” She trails off, dropping her head and blushing fiercely.

Her question is surprising until he realizes at some point in the conversation his hand has moved back to his abdomen. He needs to stop that. She’s very observant. “I am, and that is why. The Hokage has decided that my experience will be best used here, so I’m going to be a teacher’s assistant.” He’s careful not to let any of his bitterness on the subject into his voice, and is rewarded when she gives him a shy smile.

“My mom- when she- she stayed home. You don’t- don’t want…” Iruka is pretty sure he recalls that the head of the Hyuuga clan has just had a new daughter, so he’s pretty sure that’s what she’s talking about.

He smiles and shakes his head. “I like being a shinobi. I’m not going to give that up.”

Uchiha Sasuke chiming in is also a surprise, but the boy is on Naruto’s other side and leans into the blonde’s space to look at Iruka closely. “My brother is also an Omega. Does that mean he won’t be able to stay on active duty?”

How did their questions get here?

Iruka sighs and shakes his head. “Every person is different. Everyone has their own choices to make. You have a large family, Sasuke-kun. Your brother may not decide to have children. If he does, he may fall in love with a woman, or another Omega.” It isn’t entirely unheard of, though it is an oddity. The kids are whispering again.

A pink-haired civilian girl named Sakura leans onto the desk and smiles at him. Her question brings the focus back to actually being a shinobi, and he returns her smile readily. “What kind of traps do you make?”

Iruka could go on forever about traps, and all of the class listens with rapt attention as he describes some of the more simple devices and how he makes his own tags. Explosion tags, smoke tags, glitter tags, paint tags… Naruto seems especially taken with the traps he describes, and Iruka is careful not to give them too many details that will end with the troublemakers trying these things out for themselves.

By the end of lunch, the class is chatty and no one seems to mind that they’re clustered around Naruto’s desk. Kids lean into his space, talk to him and around him, and Iruka finds himself very pleased when Naruto and Sasuke fist bump over a planned prank that he’s not going to be there to see. It’s different from the way he was in the crowd but not a part of it before, and his hopeful expression is too much.

Was this what the Hokage wanted him to see?

Was it the lessons that desperately needed improvement, the kids that were curious and not finding the answers they were searching for in the curriculum, the potential of these kids that just needed cultivation?

Was it the loneliness that he recognized in some of them, because he felt it himself? Naruto wasn’t the only orphan in the class. Some of the civilian kids that started on the outskirts had been drawn in by the conversation, and by the end of it they seemed more sure of themselves.

Whatever it was, Iruka thought he’d seen enough by the end of lunch to have an opinion.

He was wrong.

Weapons training was after lunch, and the weapons that they used were completely inadequate. They were broken, or not properly weighted, and even the kids who knew what they were doing (the Clan kids) were having trouble hitting a target. It was ridiculous.

Children’s practice weapons were made for a reason, even if they weren’t common anymore due to the aforementioned lack of homeschooling in peace times. Iruka is pretty sure he could find a box of them at home. At Kakashi’s. At the Hatake compound.

By the end of the day, Iruka is annoyed, and he is very glad to see Kakashi waiting outside the academy. He tells the kids bye, pats heads and gives hugs to those who want it, and very carefully does not start ranting like he wants to until they are back inside the compound walls. 

As soon as they’ve entered the house, though, “Fucking hell, that place- those kids- do those people even know what they’re doing? Of course they don’t! They’re following a curriculum from your fucking days in the academy! Has the council or Hokage not looked into changing it?”

Kakashi looks surprised, but Iruka doesn’t notice him looking toward the kitchen and then back at him, and he doesn’t stop when Kakashi opens his mouth to interrupt, just keeps going.

“How the hell do they expect anyone except gifted little Clan kids to make it through that? You had a tutor, right? Probably started training as soon as you could walk? The only kid in there that didn’t seem completely lost by their outdated description of chakra was fucking Uchiha Sasuke!” Iruka stops there to scowl and shake his head, and Kakashi interrupts him more quickly this time.

“Iruka. We have guests,” he informs, gesturing toward the kitchen doorway, where Iruka now notices there are three people standing. He also notices he’s been pacing in the entryway, and his voice was probably a bit loud.

Of course it’s Tenzou, Kakashi’s Beta kohai, that’s visiting, but he’s surprised to see Uchiha Shisui and Itachi standing there as well.

Oh. Fuck. Why is it always an Uchiha that sees him making a fool of himself?

Why are they here? “What?”

Shisui is grinning at him like he didn’t completely just embarrass himself, and Tenzou elbows him as he opens his mouth, shooting him a cautioning look. He ignores it. “They were right about you, you really don’t hold back on insulting your superiors, Iruka-kun.”

Iruka flushes, feeling scolded, and his eyes land on Itachi, staring at him so unblinkingly. Oh god, he’d just roundabout insulted the village leadership and used Itachi’s brother as an example of an outlier. Why were they here?

He whirls on Kakashi, lips pursed tight. “You didn’t tell me that we had guests.”

For some reason, the Alpha looks entirely unrepentant. He may even be amused. “You didn’t give me the chance to.”

That is completely true and not at all the right thing to say. Kakashi seems to only realize this when Iruka’s eyes narrow at him, but they’re interrupted by a quiet voice before anything more can transpire.

“You saw my brother today?” Itachi asks, his soft voice curious, “did he do well in class?”

Iruka is oddly nervous as he turns back to the three shinobi hovering in their kitchen doorway. Itachi doesn’t sound upset at all, but the two Omegas have never even spoken and Iruka is all too aware of his words a week earlier in front of Shisui. “I did. He did very well in class. He seems like he’ll be a good genin in a couple of years.” He remembers his question during lunch and smiles. “He worries about you, actually. Wants to protect his big brother, it seems.”

He realizes what he said only after it’s out, but Itachi actually smiles at that, soft and warm, and he thinks that maybe it’s okay. “Ah. Hopefully more than a couple of years, but it’s nice to know that he worries.”

The affection that the jounin has for his brother is obvious, and honestly makes him seem more human. His reputation doesn’t seem to really fit this boy that smiles at the thought of his little brother wanting to protect him.

Iruka is feeling more calm, and as he looks around at who is there he has to wonder… why are these people in their house? He looks at Kakashi, who’s still watching rather cautiously for another outburst, and can’t keep from blushing in embarrassment again. “Uh, as nice as this conversation is… did I miss something?”

A look is exchanged between Kakashi and Tenzou, and the sheepish half-smile that spreads across his Alpha’s face says that it’s probably one of those things he can’t know about. “We were just wrapping things up here. Tenzou and Shisui wanted to stay and tell you good luck with the new instructor position. I didn't know the day would go so poorly.”

“Oh. Oh, no, it went fine. It’s just the- well, that isn’t really important right now- thank you for the well wishes.” He bows quickly to the two, before he can embarrass himself further.

Tenzou is giving him a small smile, the first he’s actually seen on his face, when he looks up. “It may not be your first choice, but don’t be ashamed.” His voice and words are too knowing, and Iruka has to look away. “You’ll do very well as an instructor. I hope to get one of your teams when I have to train genin someday. If I live that long.”

This time it’s Shisui who gives Tenzou a scolding look. “You’ll live if I have to drag you to the Sannin herself,” he growls, as if this argument is an old one.

“Maaa, don’t talk that way. Either of you. You’ll follow my path into being a jounin-sensei before you know it,” Kakashi cuts in, his eye crinkled with amusement.

What?

Suddenly, the other occupants of the room are entirely unimportant, “You’re going to be a jounin-sensei? They’re taking you off regular missions too?” What? That doesn’t make sense. He’s the copy-nin.

“Only if the team they give me passes my test,” Kakashi hums, holding up two silver bells and giving Iruka a smile.

What?

“You- you agreed to this?”

Kakashi looks away, at the bells in his hand, and shrugs. “Did you agree to being an Academy instructor?”

The message is clear. It’s the Hokage’s word. He could ask why. He could look the gift horse in the mouth.

Iruka isn’t going to, though. No more worries about Kakashi disappearing for months without a word. No more worries about the S-rank missions he knows that he takes. It’s a gift.

Kakashi won’t be out of the village for longer than a few weeks at a time if he has a team, and even then those missions will come much further down the line, when the kids are ready for C-ranks.

“When’s the wedding?” Shisui chimes in, and Iruka realizes that they’ve just been staring at each other for at least a few minutes, not saying anything. He still chokes on that question, though.

Tenzou sighs, looking put upon. He puts a hand on Shisui’s shoulder and steers him toward the door, pushing the Alpha in front of himself. “Please ignore him, senpai. Shisui, time to go. Come, Itachi.”

“Yes, Tenzou.”

“Yes, senpai.”

They’re gone before either of the house’s occupants can get a word out, Shisui giving them a grin over his shoulder just before Itachi closes the door.

What a loaded question.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Somewhere, in a timeline where the Uchiha massacre doesn’t happen, Itachi befriends Iruka just to get details on his brother's school life. Haha, for now, I hope you liked this! This was around the time Kakashi left ANBU to train genin in canon, right?
> 
> That’s his team, in case that wasn’t clear. He was telling them about his demotion. Promotion? Career change!
> 
> Now, to wrap things up with the plot so we can see the fluff and kids! And maybe wedding?? We’ll see!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to fluff-town, population: this fic! So, I hope you enjoy, because this chapter is entirely self-indulgence hidden in the guise of the plot that this thing apparently has now!
> 
> If you don’t like Itachi, we can’t be friends, so... there’s that.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

“When’s the wedding?”

Iruka is three months pregnant and has just started work as an assistant teacher at the academy when he finally gets an answer to that question.

He isn’t sure if he’s more emotional these days because of the hormones or because of the amount of Stupid Shit he has to deal with as he tries to make reforms at the academy, but his mood swings are probably a factor in what took Kakashi so long to bring up Shisui’s comment about marriage.

When he bursts into tears at the word marry, he really can’t blame his Alpha for not knowing what to do. When he does exactly the right thing anyway, scooping his Omega up and cuddling him until he stops crying, Iruka decides that, okay, they’re going to have a kid together, marriage isn’t that much more.

And then the paperwork comes in, and he decides that, yes, it really is.

“We have to pick which clan name to keep?”

He’s floored. He’s an Omega. Usually he would take his Alpha’s name. But-

“We’re both the last of our clans.”

Kakashi is staring at him, expressionless, in much the same way he does when they’re sparring and he’s assessing the best plan of attack. “We are.”

Iruka looks from him back to the paperwork, the neat little boxes he was so readily filling in until-

“We can’t- Clan registry? I don’t-” He makes a small sound of distress, and Kakashi’s hand comes to the back of his neck, rubbing gently. It’s soothing, but the problem is still there. “My parents never mentioned anything about this.”

He’s an Omega, he was going to find an Alpha and marry them, and the Alpha would do all of this. Or Beta. But, honestly, Omegas usually go for Alphas, so.

“Do you not want to do this?” The words are soft, but it hurts like a slap.

“I do,” he snaps, too fierce, too angry, but when burning brown eyes meet grey he sees relief there, and it cools his temper. “Not having second thoughts. I just need to figure out a way around this.”

He needs to research. He needs help researching. He needs to figure out how he can keep his name but also have Kakashi keep his, because he isn’t taking that away from either of them, he wants their kids to- kid. They’re having one. He’s getting ahead of himself, but...

“You know, I doubt that anyone would know more about this than another Omega with a Clan name he needs to keep,” Kakashi muses, and Iruka lights up, because of course.

Iruka has been accosted by Itachi for information on Sasuke’s school since the moment he started working with their class. The Omega would usually find him at the Mission Desk, in the archives, in the Hokage’s office… well, Iruka isn’t entirely sure how he finds him, actually, but he’s been invited to tea to spill the beans on his brother on enough occasions that Mizuki made a lewd comment about Omegas dating, and Iruka nearly killed him on the spot.

“Is Itachi still on medical leave?” He asks, his voice probably a bit too excited for the question, and Kakashi makes a face at him.

He isn’t supposed to know about that. Oops. “I saw Itachi leaving the hospital when I picked up this paperwork this morning,” the Alpha deflects, and it’s the information Iruka needs.

Iruka nods. “Right. I’ll be at the Uchiha compound, then,” he says quickly, leaning in to kiss Kakashi before carefully pushing himself to his feet.

He’s showing and feeling the effects of his pregnancy a bit more than he’d expected to at this point, honestly, but it’s still a quick trip to the Uchiha compound. Once he’s there, though…

He’s never been there before. He has no idea where he’s going. Why is it so big? Well, there are a lot of Uchiha. He stands at the gate, flustered and unsure, and stares for long enough that a young girl notices him and approaches. She’s wearing the family crest on her shirt, and has a Konoha headband.

“Good afternoon, Shinobi-san,” she greets him, her smile polite, and he smiles back automatically. “Are you waiting for someone?”

He doesn’t recognize her, but she seems nice. She also looks to be around Itachi’s age. “Ah, I’m Umino Iruka. I’m looking for Itachi-kun. I heard he was discharged this morning, and I wanted to talk to him. About Sasuke-kun.” A little white lie wouldn’t hurt.

Her face does light up at the mention of Itachi, though. “Oh, I’m Izumi. I can take you to Itachi, if you want? I didn’t know he was back.” Izumi seems to be rather excited at the prospect, and Iruka wonders if she has a crush. It’s cute and it works to his benefit.

“I would appreciate that, Izumi-chan,” he agrees, relieved that he won’t have to wander stupidly or ask someone for help. Having her offer makes it easier.

She nods to him and starts back into the compound, and Iruka can feel the family wards wash over him as he passes through the gate. Not as sturdy as those at the Hatake compound, these are designed more to assess than to keep out. It’s something to note, and he isn’t surprised when he notices that Uchiha Fugaku is waiting outside the main house when they arrive.

Of course Itachi would live in the main house. Iruka feels a bit stupid, but he just smiles at the Alpha as they approach him, continuing to follow his Beta guide.

“Iruka-sensei,” Fugaku acknowledges as they arrive, and gods but Iruka will never get used to that honorific after his name. He doesn’t grimace, but he wants to.

Izumi beats him to responding. “Fugaku-san, Iruka-sensei is here to see Itachi. He’s out of the hospital? How is he?” She goes from happy to worried almost as quickly as Iruka himself can. It’s impressive.

The softening of Fugaku’s face is only noticeable because Iruka has spent time around Itachi. “Itachi is fine, Izumi-chan. He’s still on bed rest, but he’s awake if you’d like to go see him.”

The lack of invitation to Iruka doesn’t seem to bother her, as she disappears quickly into the house. Black, assessing eyes fall on him again, and Iruka just returns the gaze with a smile. “I’m glad to hear Itachi-kun is doing well. He hasn’t been by this week to check in on Sasuke-kun’s studies, and Kakashi said that he saw him leaving the hospital this morning. Maybe ‘leaving’ was a bit of a stretch on his part.” What has possessed him to keep talking? This is the head of one of the largest clans in the village, and Iruka is talking to him like they do this all the time. He’s met the man only once before, when Iruka first started with Sasuke’s class.

It does seem to work, though. The assessment is apparently passed, and Fugaku looks almost a bit surprised, the look showing in the barest hint of a raise to his eyebrows. “Itachi has been keeping tabs, then. I thought as much. If you’d like to see him, follow me.”

Assessment passed, indeed. Iruka thinks he must have nerves of steel, even as he keeps his hands from shaking. Uchiha Fugaku is intimidating.

The woman that’s preparing lunch with Sasuke at her side when they enter the house is not intimidating. If anything, she just seems warm. Iruka doesn’t stop, though, just flashing his student a quick smile and continuing to trail after the Alpha.

Itachi’s room is, of course, basically an office with a bed in it. He really isn’t surprised. He is surprised to see Itachi sitting at his desk, with Izumi leaning against it and smiling at whatever he’s showing her. They both look up as the door slides open, and Itachi gives his father a small smile.

“Otou-san. Iruka-sensei,” he greets, polite as ever.

Fugaku nods, and looks at Izumi. “Iruka-sensei would like to speak with Itachi. Would you like to come back later?” It’s a clear dismissal, but such a roundabout one that it doesn’t seem to offend the young girl. She just smiles.

“I’ll stop by before dinner,” she agrees, smiling to Itachi and brushing a hand over his shoulder before bowing to Fugaku and leaving. The older Uchiha follows her out, leaving Iruka to wonder over the oddness of the Uchiha clan as he stares at Itachi.

Oops, he’s staring at Itachi. He averts his eyes.

“Itachi-kun, I was wondering if you knew much about the-” Is he being too forward? Is he going to embarrass himself? Is he- “-Clan registry.”

He should have gone to someone else. Why didn’t Kakashi know this shit? He’s an Alpha. He's also been alone since he was six.

The other Omega just smiles at him and nods. “Are congratulations in order?”

Well, he hadn’t considered that they hadn’t told anyone yet. Now is as good a time as any. “Uh, yeah.” His hands drop to his stomach, to the bulge he can feel and now see. “We decided- well, Kakashi asked.”

A shout from the hallway and a whoosh is all the warning that Iruka has before Shisui is also standing in the room, a harried-looking Tenzou next to him. “We weren’t eavesdropping,” he says immediately, and both Itachi and Iruka give him flat looks, “we were just coming to visit. To check on you. On Itachi. Itachi-kun, how are you? I see you’re fine! Now, Iruka-kun, you’re getting married?”

Tenzou’s hand drops onto Shisui’s shoulder, and the Uchiha looks at him, face falling when he registers to blank look that his Beta is giving him. He opens his mouth again, but that hand tightens, and it quickly snaps shut. Itachi actually looks mildly amused when Iruka glances back at him.

“We should not meddle in Senpai’s affairs, Shisui,” Tenzou scolds, though when he meets Iruka’s eye there is a softness there. “We really did come to check on Itachi-kun.”

Iruka smiles back at them easily, finding that he honestly doesn’t mind. It’s nice to see someone taking an interest in Kakashi’s well-being, Iruka has seen too many jounin that get lost in the bloody business of being a weapon. Working the mission desk sees all sorts. “It’s fine, Tenzou-san. I think Kakashi would tell you anyway. His genin team didn’t pass his test, so I believe he’ll be back on missions with you for a while.”

He can’t help the way his arms wrap around his middle, his eyes dropping back down. When he looks up again, the rest of the room is watching him, and it isn’t exactly pity in their eyes, but it’s close enough to make him frown and fidget.

Itachi clears his throat on a soft cough. “What would you like to know about the Clan registry?”

Glad for the subject change, he smiles gratefully at the other Omega. “Kakashi and I need to keep our Clan names. Both of them. I need to know how to do that.”

He doesn’t miss the looks exchanged by Tenzou and Shisui as the Alpha flops onto his cousin’s bed, tugging his Beta into his lap. What’s with the hesitance?

Itachi looks back at his desk, pulling a scroll from one of the scroll-holders to his left. He pops the chakra seal on it, then turns and hands it to Iruka. “The statutes on Clan marriages,” he explains, and unrolling the scroll shows so much fine print that it makes even Iruka grimace. 

A soft huff that may be laughter brings his eyes back to Itachi. “It’s quite convoluted. Omegas aren’t given much, in these laws. However,” he looks down, at Iruka’s abdomen, “if you want to continue your clan name through your children, you can wait until afterwards to marry. Once a child is on the registry, you don’t have to move their name with yours when you marry. Or remarry, as the law was intended for. You do have that much of a choice.”

“The only loophole is made for widows?” Iruka finds himself muttering before he can hold the words in. “We can’t… be a part of both clans? Or…”

Itachi shakes his head, and his expression shows nothing, but his eyes seem bottomless. “You can take that with you, if you’d like. I’ve memorized it. Perhaps you’ll see something I do not, sensei.”

He feels stupid doing so (of course he won’t, Itachi is a fucking genius, and he’s just a chuunin sensei), but he nods and rolls it up to slip it into his pocket. “Thank you, Itachi-kun. I should probably…” Iruka trails off, looking away, down, at the floor, at his belly’s bulge, anywhere but into the faces that he knows will be too close to pity.

“Would you like some tea?” He looks up again in surprise, startled by Itachi’s question, and the soft look on his face is surprisingly unlike pity and more like… understanding. “I have ginger tea that’s good for upset stomachs. I’d like to ask about Sasuke, if you have the time.”

Shisui stands suddenly, pulling Tenzou with him. “I’ll get the tea. Come on, Ten, help me… carry it.”

He opens his mouth, to protest or agree or something, but they’re already gone. 

Itachi sighs, his shoulders relaxing, and he stands, moving over to his bed and laying down in a surprisingly casual motion. He looks exhausted, and Iruka thinks maybe the tea isn’t just for him. He can’t help but assess the way Itachi looks maybe a bit paler than usual, his hair out of its normal ponytail and fanning out on his pillows as he arranges them into a pile to prop himself up against.

He forgot Fugaku’s words earlier, that Itachi was still on bed rest. He wonders what for, but it would be rude to ask. The kid’s still just that, a kid, and it’s easy to forget that. What is he, 13? He probably hasn’t even had his first heat yet-

Oh.

Or maybe he just did.

That would explain his medical leave. How would someone like the genius Uchiha Itachi get injured?

“You can sit at the desk. They’ll be happy with the floor if they decide to intrude again,” Itachi interrupts Iruka’s thoughts, and he finds himself nodding and blushing at where his mind had gone.

He takes the seat, glad to rest, and starts his normal report on Sasuke’s studies. Halfway through his detailed retelling of a prank that Naruto had cajoled Sasuke into helping him with, one involving a certain dog-loving boy and a large amount of peanut butter and glitter, he realizes that Itachi is asleep.

Shisui and Tenzou haven’t come back.

Itachi is sleeping, his exhaustion apparently overwhelming him.

Iruka breaks off, staring for a moment longer before he just shakes his head and moves to leave. He’s halfway out the door before a small sound of discomfort makes him turn back. Itachi blinks at him, frowning, but he just smiles back. “It’s okay, Itachi-kun. I’ll be back with your scroll, and we’ll talk about Sasuke-kun then,” he assures.

Those bottomless black eyes slip shut again, and Iruka leaves.

He doesn’t know where the rest of Kakashi’s team went. He doesn’t really care. He has a lot of reading to do when he gets home.

He does care when he comes home to find the house is empty, the scent of Kakashi stale, but he just sighs and settles into the couch with his reading material.

It’s bulky. The phrasing is convoluted, and the wording obtuse, as if it’s made to be skimmed and dismissed as “too difficult” to get around. Iruka has been reading books and scrolls on sealing since he was five, though, so he just gets a dictionary and sets to work.

Halfway down, he notices what Itachi mentioned, the loophole obviously left open for widowed mates that remarried. It was an option, but Iruka is too greedy to give up there. He wants his clan to be remade, and now that he’s… reassigned… he intends to take full advantage. He isn’t going to wait until he has two or three kids to marry Kakashi.

Further down, he finds something else interesting.

No clan on the registry is removed, even if they do not have a member of that clan present in the village. There are too many clans that have been divided up, especially after Uzushio fell, so if they removed the Namikaze clan after the Yondaime died and then another Namikaze showed up… that would apparently be too much of an embarrassment for the village council to risk.

So, if he was no longer an Umino, but he named one or more of his children as Uminos at their birth, by rite of blood, they would only have to meet the qualifications of the Umino clan to be allowed onto the registry.

Except, those qualifications were completely vague, because each clan had their own. The Umino family scrolls had been destroyed in the Kyuubi attack, so as the current clan head, he would be within his rights to choose that qualification.

Iruka found his fucking loophole. Maybe not for himself, but for his kids.

He is just getting his head around it, the excitement starting to fill him, when Kakashi arrives back home, and Iruka doesn’t even wait to tell him what he found before he jumps him.

He takes in the tired look on Kakashi’s face, watches it turn into surprise, and then pulls his mask down and seals their lips together in an almost feral kiss. The Alpha relaxes in his grip, and Iruka uses his shoulders to pull himself up and wrap his legs around his waist. Kakashi’s hands go automatically to his ass, just as planned, and he hums happily into the kiss.

When they break apart to breathe, Iruka flashes him a smile. “Take me to bed,” he demands, his voice low, and the immediate dilation of a grey eye is all the warning he gets before they’re there, he’s in bed, Kakashi is on top of him, and he could not be happier with this arrangement.

Except there are too many clothes separating them.

He’s halfway out of his shirt when Kakashi leans in to suck on and pinch his much-too-sensitive nipples, and he decides in a moment that he really doesn’t care about the clothes, because he needs Kakashi to fuck him already. Iruka moans as Kakashi sucks harder, and he fumbles with their pants, shoving them down just far enough that it will give them the space they need to-

The jounin flips him onto his knees in one, smooth movement, a steadying hand resting on his hip while lube-slicked fingers press into him. The first two sink in together, easily, and he can’t bite back a needy whine, his back arching. He drops onto his elbows when his arms buckle, and his Alpha is over him in a second, one hand still working him open as he mouths up his spine, teeth nipping at the back of his neck.

Dropping his head to give him better access, Iruka is glad he put his hair up when those teeth sink into his nape and send pleasurable tingles down his spine. The hand that was on his hip slides around, teasing over his sides and abdomen gently before moving up to play with his nipples again. He presses back, against the fingers, and there’s three there now, but he needs more, he’s so ready for it.

“Fuck me, Kakashi, I need you in me,” he gasps, trying to catch his breath and failing miserably with each new brush of fingers against his prostate.

“Fuck, Ruka,” Kakashi growls his name, lathing his tongue over the teeth imprints on his neck, and even though Iruka was expecting it, he still whimpers in protest when he’s left empty, wanting.

“Now, now, now,” he mumbles on repeat, and a panted curse above him makes him shudder in anticipation. The short pause is filled with extra attention to his nipples, and he knows they’ll be swollen after this, they already were when he woke up this morning, but it’s so good that he can only squirm and keen.

Kakashi presses into him with the same urgency that Iruka is begging with, demanding with, and the Omega groans as he’s finally filled again. He knows that Kakashi’s knot would be amazing, he’s still annoyed he won’t get to experience it for another year at least, but his mate is big and strong and makes all of his instincts purr and arch. “Yes, Alpha,” he moans.

The pace is picked up more quickly than usual, and Iruka can tell that Kakashi’s control is frayed. The scratch of his flak jacket against Iruka’s bare back leaves his hands scrambling for purchase on the sheets, and he wishes that they’d actually removed their pants just so he could spread his legs wider and take more into him.

“Oh, Ruka, so good, my perfect Omega,” Kakashi starts to murmur against his neck, and it always makes him weak, makes him tremble, and this time is no different. The hand that isn’t holding his steady, holding him up, stops pulling at his nipple to stroke over his belly, splaying on top of the bulge there. “So pretty, so vocal, gives me pups, we’re going to make so many.” 

The words are whispered into his ear as it’s nipped and nibbled, and Iruka wants so badly for it to be true. He can’t do anything but shiver and moan and breathe back, “yes, yes, yes,” as he’s fucked lower into the mattress. The hand on his hip keeps him from falling fully onto his stomach, but his chest is pressed into the bed, and every thrust rubs his nipples against the sheets.

He isn’t going to last much longer, he can feel the heat coiling in his gut, the burning pleasure that’s spreading tingles through his limbs.

Kakashi’s hand moves lower, strokes through the wiry hair at the base of his cock, and swipes up the precum that’s been dripping onto the sheets to slick his hand before he wraps it around Iruka’s cock. It’s been neglected the whole time, and jumps at his touch, then again when the Alpha sinks his teeth back into the nape of Iruka’s neck.

He’s definitely going to be bruised there, later, but that thought just makes his instincts purr harder. “Yes, Alpha, mark me, take me, yours,” Iruka pants.

The fingers on his hip tighten, and Kakashi’s thrusts become shallow and precise while he strokes him faster, and Iruka’s mind is overwhelmed with all the sensations. The fucking, the stroking, the biting, the fabric rubbing both his back and his chest…

Iruka comes with a shout, his cry muffled into the mattress, and jolts when those teeth clamp down harder as Kakashi comes just after. It turns his shout into a keen, and the answering snarl against his neck makes his hair stand on end.

It’s the most frantic sex Iruka has had outside a heat, and he half expects to feel the slow inflation of a knot in his ass instead of the softening of his Alpha’s cock.

As they come down from the high, still panting and trembling together, Kakashi pulls them both onto their sides. They’re sticky, Kakashi is still mostly dressed, and their pants are tangled around their knees, but Iruka relaxes into his grasp and sighs as his hair is released to fall around their faces.

The jounin loves to stick his nose in it, and Iruka just huffs a laugh as he feels his face buried there.

“Cinnamon and black tea. And paper, and ink,” Kakashi mumbles into his hair.

The brunette hums as if that makes sense and pats the hands that shift around to hold his stomach. “That’s nice, Kakashi,” he sighs back.

A soft huff tells him that his patronizing didn’t go unnoticed. “Your scent. ‘S’nice,” he mumbles again.

Oh.

Iruka flushes. He’s never had someone describe his scent that way. He always kept it under wraps unless he was in heat and incapable. Even with Kakashi, before he found out he was pregnant.

“Thanks,” he breaths the word softly, already feeling his exhaustion taking over, and the rumble of the Alpha’s chest against his back is all it takes to lull him to sleep.

He doesn’t hear the sleepy declaration of love that’s murmured just after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lemme know what you think!
> 
> Also! If you’re enjoying this, please visit my wonderful new friend EternalSurvivor and read her ABO collab Time Lapse! Because it’s even better!!
> 
> I hope you enjoyed, and as always, I will adore your comments!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shisui and Tenzou

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo!  
> I’ve been planning this chapter for like... well, honestly since I added Shisui in here. It’s why I added the Shisui/Tenzou tag!  
> So, here, have a chapter with just ya bois and some smut and feelings! Please thank EternalSurvivor for me getting this out today! Her inspiration was key.  
> I hope you enjoy!

Tenzou is sick.

He never gets sick. The mokuton clears anything up before it has the chance to actually affect him.

When he wakes up with the urge to vomit clawing at his throat, he knows something is wrong.

He’s not prepared for how wrong.

He stares at the chart, and results on it, in dismay. It’s impossible, physically impossible, but the results are right there.

He’s pregnant. At least 2 months along, if the results could be trusted.

It lines up with Shisui’s last rut.

It was the first one they’d shared together.

He’s pregnant.

Suddenly, he understands much better the feelings that Iruka had displayed those months ago when he found out that he was pregnant. He feels confused, scared, anxious, sick.

He needs his mate. He needs Shisui.

Only his training keeps his face smooth and impassive, keeps his hands or voice from shaking as he hands the chart back to the worried medic and nods to her. “Thank you. I’ll be fine now.”

“We-” she looks unsure, “we should probably run some more tests. As a beta-”

He flinches, looking from her to the clipboard. “No. It’s unnecessary. It’s correct.” He can feel that it’s correct, whispered in the back of his mind by a voice he hasn’t heard since he was-

No. Tenzou sighs and shakes his head. “I’ll pick up my vitamins on the way out.”

His stomach rolls again, but he pushes it back with little more than a pause.

Shisui is, of course, with Itachi.

Tenzou can always find him, he knows all the places to check. He shunshins from one training ground to the next to the Uchiha compound and finally finds him having tea in their favorite tea house.

He really does not want to do this in public.

He puts on a smile, puts a stop to his stomach’s antics by sheer will power, and then takes a seat next to his mate.

The beaming smile he gets makes his heart constrict. “Good morning, Tenzou!” Shisui greets him.

Itachi even gives him a small smile. What he’d done to earn it is anyone’s guess. Maybe the stoic kid is having a good day. “Hello, Tenzou-senpai.”

Tenzou returns their smiles as best he can, plastering on a fake one, but he sees that Shisui at least sees through him. A hand drops onto his leg, squeezing lightly, and he reassures him by putting his own hand over it.

They’ll talk later, but for now, “Good morning. Having tea?”

It’s a stupid question. Both boys look at him like he’s just blundered, and he has, but he keeps his smile in place.

Itachi is the more polite of the two. He nods. “Are you joining us?” His tone is hesitant as he asks.

Tenzou is not leaving his mate, not when he’s being anchored to this plane of reality by nothing more than the hand on his thigh, which he is still holding onto like the lifeline it is. He doesn’t say any of that, he just nods back. “If that’s okay.”

The younger Uchiha is very polite indeed, he just inclines his head, even as he gives Shisui a look that says they will continue talking about something later.

Shisui orders tea for him, his favorite, and Tenzou just gives him a grateful smile. He doesn’t let his mate have his hand back. They talk about normal things like missions and training as they all drink their tea, and then Tenzou and Shisui are saying goodbye to Itachi, and they head home, to the apartment they share.

There’s a silence blooming between them, heavy with tension, as they walk. Tenzou ignores it, but by the time they get to their apartment it’s nearly suffocating. Why did they walk, why not shunshin?

He realizes it was only a five minute walk, but it feels like it was much too long.

The Uchiha sighs as he closes the door, turning to Tenzou and carefully extracting his hand, which the brunette realizes he may have been holding a bit too tightly.

His breathing is unsteady. Strong arms wrap around him, and he nuzzles into Shisui’s neck as he’s held. “What’s wrong, Ten?”

How do you tell your alpha that they mated a beta and then still got a kid anyway? “I’m pregnant,” he mumbles. That’s probably not how, but it’s the best he can do.

The arms around him tighten. “Uh, Tenzou…” Shisui’s voice has never been so hesitant. “You’re a beta.”

“I was also a genetic experiment, who was toyed with by a madman, and I’m pregnant.” That was maybe a bit too snappy. He feels remorseful, but he doesn’t take it back.

A nose presses against his hair, and his mate breathes in deeply, scenting him. He lets his control go, his chakra and scent flowing freely. Shisui’s breath hitches.

“You’re pregnant,” he whispers, like saying the words too loudly will break him, or Tenzou, or maybe the whole world. It certainly feels like it.

Suddenly, Tenzou is swept off his feet, and Shisui is laughing with delight, and they’re spinning around so quickly that he’s about to throw that tea up. Fortunately, he’s been practicing not doing so all day now.

The sudden amazement on his mate’s face is like a balm for the anxiety that’s been building in him, and Tenzou’s face also breaks into a smile as he huffs a laugh as well. “We’re having a pup!” Shisui exclaims as he comes to a stop. “How?”

Tenzou shakes his head, but his smile doesn’t falter. “I’m not sure. Mokuton? Orochimaru? Some weird biological quirk? Does it matter?” His smile does falter, then.

Shisui doesn’t let it stay that way for long, though. “Not at all,” he says with such swiftness and surety that it can’t be doubted, “because this pup is ours!”

The other man drops to his knees and grabs the beta around the middle, rubbing his face against his stomach in affection. Tenzou’s smile grows, his cheeks hurt with it, because yes, he woke up sick, and maybe there will be complications with this, but Shisui is so happy about it that he really can’t care.

A thought occurs to him, one that twists his stomach. “You’re very excited for someone who mated a male beta…”

The alpha stiffens, his face still pressed against Tenzou’s flak jacket. His expression is hidden from view, but the arms around his middle tighten as Shisui takes in his words. His words are muffled in the fabric, but they ring clear in the brunette’s ears. "I love you, Ten. Nothing else matters to me. Being with you is what makes me happy, and I've always wanted to have a family with you. Adopted or biological, any pups we have together will be ours. You'll be an amazing father."

Tenzou can’t make himself respond to that, his throat suddenly tight and his eyes burning. Shisui looks up, then, and his black eyes are wide and wet above a huge grin. “Let me show you how much I love you.”

He can’t do anything but nod, but that’s enough, and his alpha scoops him up bridal style as he stands. Their lips meet in a kiss that’s achingly soft, and the beta feels all the love and desire of his mate poured into it. He shudders as Shisui licks into his mouth, deepening the kiss and sending warmth to pool in his stomach.

As soon as they break to breathe, Shisui is moving, and it’s only a second later that Tenzou is laid out on their bed with Shisui above him. Chaste kisses are peppered over his face, drawing a breathy laugh from him, and he slides his hands into curly black hair to bring the older boy back in for another kiss.

They take things slowly, so different from the usual frenzy that is Shisui Uchiha, and Tenzou’s head is spinning with arousal by the time his shirt is pulled off him. He’s achingly hard already and whines as slim fingers start to play over his ribs, followed by a hot mouth that tastes and teases and marks him. Those warm hands catch his and hold him in place as he starts to squirm and reach for his pants.

“Not yet,” Shisui murmurs around his nipple, sending a shiver down his spine, before going back to his ruthless adoration of Tenzou’s body. He’s panting and flushed and completely unable to argue as their fingers lace together to hold him firmly in place.

Shisui only moves on when he’s gasping from every kiss, letting go of his hands and sitting up to pull off his own shirt. Tenzou takes the opportunity to shove his pants off, hands shaking on the clasp. His alpha presses him back against the bed as soon as they’re off, and they’re both naked even though Tenzou thinks it would probably be impossible for anyone else to fully undress in that short time.

“Shi-” he breaks off with a moan as his mate rolls their hips together and his hands flex against broad shoulders, “Please- I need you,” the beta is not above begging, already drowning in the pleasure of Shisui’s teasing.

He doesn’t need to, though. His alpha smiles down at him as he settles between his spread legs, catching him for another slow kiss. Tenzou moans into it as two lube-slicked fingers press into him, his back arching. He needs his mate, and even just that much makes him whimper for more as those lips track down his neck again to continue marking him.

Shisui doesn’t draw this part out, and Tenzou is so thankful for that as he relaxes around the fingers fucking him open. Every brush of his prostate threatens to undo him, but he refuses to come until he’s been properly fucked. “C-come on, I need-” he gasps as a third finger is pressed in just as Shisui bites down on his neck, “A-Alpha, please.”

He doesn’t often call his mate that, he isn’t an omega that craves his alpha’s knot during heat or anything, but he loves the immediate response he gets when he does. Shisui growls, jaw tightening as the sound rumbles up from his chest, and Tenzou keens at the sharp pleasure-pain, much more familiar than this slow and soft unraveling.

Shisui doesn’t completely snap, though. After the initial flex of his jaw, he pulls back to lap gently at the bruised area, nuzzling into Tenzou’s neck. “Not yet,” he murmurs, as he continues his near-reverent ministrations.

He doesn’t have to wait long, but it’s still maddeningly slow as his mate finally removes his fingers and slots their hips together. Shisui lifts his legs so they wrap around his hips, slides into him, and both of them groan. It’s exactly what Tenzou needs, that hard cock inside him, but even still the pace that he sets is slow, every thrust long and deep.

It’s completely different from their usual, frantic fuck, and Tenzou is nearly choked by the swell of affection in his chest when he meets black eyes that are so loving even blown wide with desire.

He will never understand how his mate can look like that, but it’s staring into those eyes, while Shisui fucks him slowly and thoroughly, that Tenzou feels the knot that’s been twisting his gut ever since he woke up that morning finally loosen.

Shisui loves him. Tenzou can see it in everything he does. Even with this strange and impossible thing that’s happening, his mate is there, his eyes still so adoring, loving him and wanting him.

It makes everything in Tenzou ease, and it’s then that he finds his release, coming between them with a long groan as Shisui continues to fuck him through it. They’ve both been wound up so tight that he isn’t surprised at all when the alpha follows him over the edge.

They’re sweating and panting against each other as they come down from orgasm when Shisui presses a kiss right over his scent gland and murmurs, “I love you, Tenzou. I’ll be happy to raise our pup with you. I want to give you everything. If you want me, you can have me.”

No two jounin or members of ANBU are really “well adjusted” in a relationship. They don’t talk much about their feelings, other than to affirm them with little “I love you”s. They just exist together, they share space, they share a bed and their time…

They’re mates, have acknowledged each other on both an instinctual and emotional level, but Shisui’s words in the last hour are so much more than they’ve actually spoken on the subject of their feelings.

Tenzou doesn’t notice his cheeks are wet until Shisui is looking at him with concern and brushing the tears from his face. “Ten, I- I’m sorry, I didn’t-”

He shakes his head quickly, and the alpha stops. “I love you too, Shisui,” he whispers back, unable to speak any louder for fear of his voice breaking. Tenzou should not be this emotional over something he’s happy about. He is, though. Somehow, he can’t help it. “I want- I want to raise our pup with you too. I’m just as much yours.”

They’re both a bit broken and will need to do a lot of work to get to a place where they’re equipped to deal with having a kid. Knowing that they’ll be putting in that work together, though, makes all the difference. They’ll be okay. They have each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, let me know what you think!! It took me too long to work this out, but it was time for it!


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here’s some sad and some comfort. And domestic bliss, for ya bois, because they deserve it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo, we made it to chapter 10, wtf!
> 
> Thank you so much to everyone who has encouraged this! Special thanks to decaf_kitty for enjoying my flight of fancy, and to badger for always leaving such sweet comments!
> 
> Extra special thanks to Eternalsurvivor for forcing me to actually work on this when my focus got too lost in other things. I owe you, senpai!
> 
> Hope y’all enjoy~

Kakashi is not having a good day.

It’s February 10th. 

Kakashi woke up at dawn like he does every year. He left the bed he now shares with his Mate, with Iruka, and made his way slowly to the memorial stone. He stops in a few places on his way, picking up flowers and Obito’s favorite candy. It’s the same routine he’s had since he was 12.

Back then, he didn’t realize what he had. He stops as he arrives at the memorial stone and sits in front of it. Kakashi lets his mind wander as he decides what to tell his team mate.

“I found my mate, Obito,” he starts with. It’s been too long since he last visited, so it seems like a good place to begin. “We’re having a pup. Hell, we’re getting married. It’s been… too long. I’ve neglected coming to see you and Rin and Sensei.”

Kakashi looks at the flowers in his hands and clears his throat. It’s just scratchy. He’s fine. “Umino Iruka. He’s beautiful and a terror, you’d get along so well. He was a troublemaker. I got caught in a few of his pranks when- after Sensei died. Yeah, you would really like him. And… I told him about it.”

He’d explained everything to Iruka, about Kannabi Bridge, Rin’s death, Sensei and Kushina and Naruto… “He’s very easy to talk to. He’s usually so passionate and energetic, but… he’s a good listener.”

Kakashi sighs and ignores the wetness that he feels soaking into his hitai-ate. It’s always Obito’s eye that cries. He’s still a crybaby, even in death.

“Mah, I don’t want to bore you with all of that. I have news from your family too.” Changing the subject is easier. “Shisui’s mate is pregnant too. He’s over the moon about it. I made sure to catch his face on the sharingan for you, I know you two were close.”

He plays it back in his head, Shisui’s beaming smile and Tenzou’s flushed grin as they told him and Iruka about their pup. The way Iruka hugged them both so tightly before turning and pulling him into the group hug as well. The wetness that sprang to Shisui’s eyes as he ruffled their hair and congratulated them both. The whispered words of love between the two as they talked about clan traditions and names.

“They don’t know the sex yet. Iruka and I don’t either.” They have an appointment scheduled for later that day, because Kakashi always takes February 10th and November 15th off. “Next time I come, I’ll tell you about it. Both of them, maybe.”

He pauses to recall the scene again, then moves on. “Mah, your little cousin Itachi is also doing well for himself. I told you when he joined my team, but he also just announced he’s being courted by the Inuzuka heir. We may end up cousins of a sort, Obito.” He chuckles, but the joke falls flat even to his own ears.

Kakashi sighs and places the flowers in front of the stone, unwrapping the candies and swiftly popping one into his mouth. He doesn’t leave his mask down for more than a second, in case anyone is lingering nearby. The sweet, tangy flavor is one that he doesn’t seek out, but the edge of sour to it is enough to keep him from disliking it.

He doesn’t remember Obito’s scent well enough anymore to say that it’s true, but he associates him with the flavor of that candy.

There’s only one thing left for him to share. “I’m going to be a jounin-sensei. The Sandaime has decided to give me a genin team. The first batch didn’t pass the bell test. No teamwork at all.” 

Kakashi didn’t capture that on the sharingan, but he replays their attempts in his head all the same, including their abandonment of the weakest link. “You know, I always thought I would be ANBU until it killed me. That you would be the one with a team, like Sensei. When he gave me the bells, I didn’t think I would get the chance to use them. Now, I’ll make sure that whatever team I do pass doesn’t make our mistakes again.”

The rest of the candy goes in his pocket as he stands, and he knows he won’t eat it, just as he doesn’t every other year. It’s a nice thought to have, though. The sweet/sour taste lingers on his tongue, and he nods a goodbye before turning away.

He doesn’t look back. He has someone to get back to.

^~^

Someones, it would seem.

When Kakashi walks into the house, he can already smell the ramen, and he pulls his mask down to breathe in the smell of his mate underneath that. He catches a whiff of something unfamiliar, like milk and citrus, wafting through as well, and pulls his mask back up before continuing into the kitchen.

Naruto is sitting on the counter, staring into a pot that Iruka is stirring. They’re both so intent on what they’re doing that he doesn’t think they notice him.

Iruka is speaking. “So, the noodles have to be cooked until they are the perfect consistency. If you undercook them, they’ll still be hard, but overcooking will make them turn to mush in the bowl.” He takes a noodle from the pot and blows on it gently, then nips off the end and nods. “Here, bite this,” he instructs, handing the rest of the cooked noodle to the little blonde.

Naruto bites into it and immediately makes a face. “That’s hard in the middle!” He exclaims, getting a laugh from the brunette.

“Yes, it is. That’s not done yet. We’ll wait a couple minutes and check again.” Iruka takes the noodle and tosses it in the trash, next to the counter, before turning back to the stove and the other pot. “Ah, the water is boiling. We can set a timer for the eggs now.”

He turns around and jumps when he sees Kakashi in the doorway, his surprise turning quickly into delight. “Kakashi! Welcome home!”

Naruto turns wide, blue eyes to him, grinning just as brightly as his teacher. “Welcome home!” He parrots, seeming very pleased with himself when Iruka laughs and ruffles his hair.

The alpha smiles, his eye curving with it, as Iruka continues over to grab the timer off the counter. Emotion that he doesn’t have the capacity for swells in his chest and he swallows it down. “Yes, I’m home.”

He gets a curious and indulgent smile from his omega, which he drops his mask to return. The six-year-old on his counter stops paying attention anyway when Iruka starts to tell him about the different amounts of time an egg can be boiled and the various results. Apparently, they’ll be cooking everything from soft to hard-boiled today.

Kakashi doesn’t question why his mate has decided to bring this small child into their house on a Saturday morning so that they can make ramen for lunch. He’s seen how people avoid Naruto, and has, on occasion, scared a particularly loud-mouthed one into shutting up in the boy’s proximity. He just enjoys the domesticity of it, sidling up behind Iruka, pressing a kiss to his neck, and listening just as carefully as Naruto to all his detailed explanations.

It turns out, Iruka knows how to make ramen that’s almost as good as Ichiraku’s. 

Kakashi might be biased.

It’s exactly what he needs to feel the warmth seep back into his bones.

^~^

Kakashi handles the dishes after lunch, while Iruka shows Naruto the compound and introduces him to the dogs.

The little blonde hits it off with Bisuke immediately. They romp around, and the whole pack gets involved when Naruto throws a frisbee halfway across the compound grounds. Uhei is the victor, prancing back over while Naruto laughs and the other ninken give him pleading looks to throw it again.

Pakkun is the only one who sits on the sidelines with Iruka. He watches Naruto with a soft, fond expression that is surprisingly tender for the gruff little pug. “Do you know him already?” Iruka prompts as they watch the kid get bowled over by an excited Urushi.

The pug snorts. “No. I knew his mother, though. She was just as happy to meet dogs that didn’t turn tail when she got within sniffin’ range.”

Iruka blinks at him, and Pakkun shifts in a way that may be a shrug. “She was the last fox. She would be happy her kit is here. Kakashi was close to his parents.”

That explains a lot. And also leaves him with a lot of questions. “He was close to them?”

Everyone knows that Uzumaki Kushina and Namikaze Minato were his parents, even if they can’t talk about it. They also know that Naruto is the Kyuubi jinchuuriki. Kakashi’s reputation from his time with Team Minato isn’t a secret either, but… being on someone’s team doesn’t mean spending enough time with them outside missions to know their spouse.

Pakkun gives that little shrug again. “He was young. His sensei tried to be there. He was Kushina’s guard during her pregnancy.” He looks at Iruka from the corner of his eye, and the omega just watches as Naruto throws the frisbee again, this time so high that Bull jumps up to snatch it out of the air.

Kakashi was the Yondaime’s student and his wife’s guard. It makes more sense now, to Iruka, why he had actually wanted to see Naruto when he had also been almost painfully awkward in interacting with the kid at lunch. He obviously didn’t know how to handle children, but seeing him try was very endearing.

“Do you think he’d like to see him around more often?” The question falls off his tongue before he can bite it back, and Pakkun huffs that wheezing doggy laugh.

“Kid, I don’t think you’re gonna be able to get rid of the kit after this. Just look at the pack,” he huffs.

Iruka is already looking. He sees their grins and the way they’re all edging closer than when they first stepped outside. Bisuke is a faithful companion now, jumping to lick the little blonde in the face when he gets the chance and sending Naruto into fits of giggles every time. 

“You have a point,” he concedes, though the smile on his face is wide. He doesn’t think he would have it any other way.

^~^

Kakashi isn’t nervous. He has more S-rank missions under his belt than A-ranks at this point. He is a seasoned shinobi, and has been for the last 15 years.

Why is he nervous?

Iruka is laid back on a hospital bed, in the maternity ward. The walls have little teddy bears decorating them. Why does that unnerve him?

Kakashi stands dutifully at his mate’s side as an apparently-cold jelly is slathered over the little bump on his belly. It’s not big, but it went from being just a small distention to an actual bump over the last month. He tries not to stare at the dark line that runs from Iruka’s navel to his pant line. He knows the doctors have said that it isn’t an issue, is completely normal, but it still makes him worry.

Iruka smiles up at him, and Kakashi smiles back behind his mask. “What are you hoping for?” The words are whispered, as if the medic sitting on the other side of the hospital bed won’t hear them. 

Kakashi chuckles. “Healthy.”

Iruka snorts, giving him a flat look, and it soothes his nerves. It’s normal. Iruka gives him that look when he’s being a dumb ass, which is apparently more often than a so-called genius would think.

The medic smiles politely at them as she adjusts the… what is that? Whatever it is, she adjusts its position on Iruka’s abdomen, spreading the cool gel in the wake of it. The screen in front of them is lit, but the image is blurry and not something that he can really understand.

An ultrasound.

Kakashi shakes his head and looks back at Iruka, squeezing his hand when he sees the omega is worrying his lip. He gets a quick flash of a grin, and a returning squeeze, and then the medic makes a soft sound of surprise and both of their heads snap around to look.

“Is it okay?” Iruka asks in a rush, and the medic smiles reassuringly.

“Just fine. Sorry, I just… I’m not sure why they didn’t catch this at your last appointment.” She makes another adjustment to the wand, and then nods, holding it steady. “I’m not mistaken. Well, congratulations. You’re having twins.” 

Neither of them react. They just stare. 

The medic looks back at the screen and hums in thought. “Looks like a boy and a girl.”

Kakashi isn’t sure how she can tell anything with the grainy imaging in front of them, but as he stares at the screen he can… almost… maybe make out two heads.

“We’re having twins?” Iruka breaths the words so softly that the medic doesn’t seem to hear him. He clears his throat, and Kakashi looks down at him, noticing the moisture in his eyes. “We’re having twins?” He repeats, louder.

The medic looks back and smiles that same, polite smile. “You are. A boy and a girl. Congratulations.”

Kakashi is pretty sure he’s never heard anything so amazing and ridiculous before.

Iruka’s grip on his hand is tight, almost crushing, and Kakashi can’t do anything more than stare at his wonderful mate. “You’re sure.” The words sound like they come from him. He doesn’t speak them consciously.

The medic huffs a bit. “Yes, I’m sure.”

The smile that breaks out on Iruka’s face is brilliant. His cheeks are flushed, eyes wet, and he grins so brightly that it makes the alpha want to kiss him more than anything.

He does. Iruka kisses him back, laughing against his lips.

They’re having twins. It makes everything in him purr.

Maybe today isn’t so bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, isn’t that a surprise!
> 
> I hope it was. I tried to hint with little details! Anyway, if you enjoyed this, let me know haha
> 
> As always, thank you so much for reading and for all your encouraging comments!


End file.
